How Aston Villa’s stunning £116m squad value summer increase compares to Premier League rivals

You never want to jump the gun with bold claims like these, but on paper at least, it would appear that Aston Villa have had as positive a summer transfer window as anybody in the Premier League. Evidently eager to build on the fine work they put in under Unai Emery during the latter stages of last season, the Villans have recruited with purpose and ambition, and on the face of it, their squad looks all the better for it.

In total, Villa brought in five fresh faces over the summer for a combined outlay of around £80 million, if you include the £4.5m fee attached to Nicolo Zaniolo’s loan from Galatasaray. Alongside the Italian, Emery’s men spent big on Moussa Diaby and Pau Torres, while also securing a temporary agreement for Clement Lenglet and signing Youri Tielemans on a free transfer.

With regards to outgoings, Villa have parted company with 10 first team squad members in recent weeks, recouping just shy of £28m in the process. Cameron Archer and Marvelous Nakamba have left for newly-promoted Premier League rivals Sheffield United and Luton Town respectively, while highly-rated prospect Jaden Philogene has signed for Championship outfit Hull City and Keinan Davis has sought a fresh challenge in Italy with Udinese.

Veteran wide man Ashley Young now lines up in the blue of Everton following a free transfer, and one-time club record signing Wesley Moraes has left Villa Park in favour of a spell in the second tier with Stoke City. Elsewhere, Philippe Coutinho, Morgan Sanson, and young goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo have all headed out on loan to destinations as disparate as Al-Duhail, OGC Nice, and Exeter City, while Jed Steer is now a free agent having been released.

All things considered, however, Villa’s transfer business has had a considerable positive impact on the financial heft of their squad. According to Transfermarkt, the combined market value of Emery’s playing staff has increased 29% since the start of the window - the fifth-highest increase in the Premier League. In real terms, that makes for a £115.6m growth, taking Villa’s total squad value to £514.1m - a figure only surpassed by seven other sides in the division.

Premier League clubs boosting their market value

Of the 20 clubs who make up the Premier League, 15 increased the market value of their squad this summer. As mentioned above, Villa boast the fifth-largest percentage growth of the window, but they were comfortably outshone by newly-promoted duo Luton Town and Burnley, who recorded spikes of 179% and 144.3% respectively.

Interestingly, however, both clubs still find themselves in the top flight’s bottom three when it comes to overall market value. Sheffield United fill the last spot, with the Blades also having enjoyed the third-largest percentage increase in the division this summer at 44.5%. The only other club who sit above Villa in that regard are Bournemouth, who saw their stock rise from £210.6m to £290.1m- equivalent to 37.7%.

Other notable developments include Newcastle United flexing their newfound financial might to increase their squad value to £514.7m - just a touch higher than Villa’s - and Arsenal spending freely on the likes of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz to bring their own combined tally ever closer to the £1 billion mark.

The Gunners’ squad is still only the second most valuable in the Premier League, however, with Manchester City eclipsing them ever so slightly. The treble winners boast the only £1 billion dressing room in the top flight having increased its worth by 11.9% over the past few months.

Elsewhere, despite losing the likes of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister in high-profile deals, Brighton still managed to register a 7.9% growth this summer, while substantial overhauls under Erik ten Hag and Ange Postecoglou means that Manchester United and Tottenham only enjoyed negligible increases of 3.2% and 1.3% respectively.

Clubs who have decreased their market value

While 15 clubs increased their market value this summer, five did not. The most minor of these reductions were felt by West Ham and Everton, who saw their squads shrink by 2.2% and 3.9% each. The Hammers in particular did well to make up for the shortfall caused by Declan Rice’s departure with a number of astute signings in the latter stages of the window.

Meanwhile, Liverpool also suffered a 5.9% decrease (in no small part due to a relatively unexpected midfield exodus) but with a total squad value of £712m, the Reds still lay claim to the fifth most-expensive dressing room in the top flight, and have softened the blow of their exits considerably with deals for the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Ryan Gravenberch.

Another fascinating case study are Chelsea, who vastly outspent all of their Premier League rivals, but who still somehow saw their total market value drop from £878m to £796.8m over the course of the summer. A whole host of big name stars left Stamford Bridge, with several heading to the Saudi Pro League, and the likes of Kai Havertz and Mason Mount joining fellow top six clubs. All in all, that made for a 9% reduction in the Blues’ estimated combined worth.

But not even Chelsea come anywhere near to matching Wolves, who have recorded an alarming 22% decrease in their total market value since June 1st. Somewhat against their will, you suspect, Wanderers bid farewell to three of their best players in the form of Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes, and Nathan Collins, who moved to Saudi Arabia, Manchester City, and Brentford respectively.

As other clubs in the Premier League have proven, that in and of itself is not necessarily enough to bring down the overall worth of a dressing room, but where Wolves differ to many of their rivals is that they have failed to substantially reinvest the money accrued from those departures. In total, they received £145.7m, but spent just £80.9m - and £43m of that figure went on Matheus Cunha, who was already on loan at Molineux last term.