Watkins' absence at Brighton a question for him - Emery

Like many, Villa are a selling club, mainly due to necessity, and have been for a number of years.

They must comply with Uefa's squad cost ratio (SCR) which restricts them to spending 70% of their football related revenue on player and staff wages, transfer fees and agent fees.

They have already been fined twice by Uefa for breaches, being hit with a £9.5m sanction last year and a £19.4m fine in June, although £12.9m was suspended after Villa came to a settlement agreement with Europe's governing body. But it has meant the club's hands are tied in the transfer window.

The Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) also limited financial losses to a maximum of £105 million over a rolling three-year period.

In their latest accounts, ending 30 June 2025, Villa had a post-tax profit of £17m but their two previous years showed losses of £119.6m (2023) and £85.4m (2024).

The regulations have now been replaced by SCR, which sees the Premier League fall in line with Uefa's model

"It's necessity because of the rules," one former Villa executive told BBC Sport, when asked about the sales. "The PSR, the SCR, issues are well documented.

"It does seem slightly unfair they're having their ambition capped at this level. But it has forced this very big churn of players, which is unfortunate.

"Some will be forced due to PSR, some will be player demand. Combined it makes a big problem for Emery and certainly it is a lot to swallow in one go and to try and replace. "

This summer has crystalised their situation further because of the high profile nature of the departures.

Villa had raised just over £200m with the sales of Jhon Duran (£71m), Douglas Luiz (£42.5m), Jacob Ramsey (£40m) and Moussa Diaby (£50m) over the past two years.

This window will see them bank, once the Konsa deal goes through, around £212m, including £9m for Lewis Dobbin who never played a senior game for Villa before leaving for Southampton.

The academy has also paid its way comfortably with Jaden Philogene and Cameron Archer being bought back to be sold again, while Burnley spent £12m on Aaron Ramsey in 2023.

Internally, when Villa first returned to the Champions League in 2024, it was recognised it would be harder for academy prospects to break into the squad which left Villa more open to selling them.

Despite the departures optimism remains. Last week's battling Super Cup defeat in Salzbug to Paris St-Germain still showed Villa's competitiveness and Emery's powers of adaptability.

Emery has constantly needed to roll with the punches during his three-and-a-half years in charge but he has consistently improved Villa, having taken over when they were 14th following Steven Gerrard's reign.

In Austria, skipper John McGinn pointed to the fact they still have Emery while others - Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea - have new managers and that Villa's structure remains intact.

"We have a structure in place, standards and rules which have made us a success. I am really excited about the new Aston Villa," said McGinn.

That includes Brian Madjo after Villa won their battle with Fifa to register the 17-year-old earlier this month.

The striker scored on his debut against PSG, eight months after initially signing from Metz for £10m, and could prove one of the surprises of the season.

The drive towards younger players comes after Roberto Olabe replaced Monchi last September as president of football operations with a long-to-mid term directive on transfers.

Midfielder Joao Gomes, 25, goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, 23 and defender Matteo Ruggeri, 24, have joined this summer after 20-year-old Johan Manzambi became the club's record buy in July.

They have also had an £18m bid rejected for 24-year-old Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

The loan signing, with an obligation to buy, of Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea allows Villa to spread the cost while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is due to move from West Ham on a similar deal.

"The problem is they may now be at the end of a chain of transfer deals, with the players involved and their transfer targets dependent on other moves happening first," said the former Villa decision-maker.

Above all, though, Emery remains Villa's biggest asset and he has overhauled them before. This time it would be one of his biggest achievements.

"There's a lot of hope and ambition resting with the manager," said the ex-Villa Park executive.

"He's the ace card they've got left and everybody's hoping with his experience and knowledge they can pull through.

"It's a lot of pressure on him and you've got to wonder if he's trying to think 'maybe I need to go somewhere else with more resources?'

"I don't think it'll be this season but, at some stage as a manager, you get fed up juggling all those demands."