Aston Villa handed FFP answer amid future fears as midfielder attracts Serie A interest

Aston Villa brought the January transfer window to an end with a late flurry of activity. Unai Emery's side added three players on deadline day with Morgan Rogers, Lino Sousa and Joe Gauci all arriving at Villa Park, while Kosta Nedeljkovic made the £6.5m switch earlier in the month.

Villa marked the end of the window with a comfortable win on Saturday, too, thumping Sheffield United 5-0 at Bramall Lane to move back into the Premier League's top four. However, the transfer talk never stops and ahead of the FA Cup fourth round replay against Chelsea on Wednesday night, we've rounded up some of the latest transfer news.

Villa given FFP answer

Aston Villa may be forced to part with their brightest homegrown talents in order to stave off financial fair play difficulties next season. That's according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who believes Villa will have to be smart over the coming windows to remain within the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability guidelines.

That could mean actively looking to sell the likes of Jacob Ramsey and a number of other youngsters, who would be deemed to be pure profit, in order to remain compliant.

“Aston Villa spent more than any other club in 2021-22 in terms of transfers,” Maguire told Football Insider.

“From 2024-25 onwards, the benefits of the Jack Grealish sale, which contributed £100million to their FFP calculations, will drop out of the equation. Therefore, they’re going to have to box clever in relation to their activity in the summer market.

“Academy players are increasingly being viewed as inventories rather than talent because of the profits that they generate. It is one route, but I’m sure it will disappoint fans because there’s always that extra special link between the fan base and players who have come through the academy ranks.“

Zaniolo wanted

Aston Villa loanee Nicolo Zaniolo is attracting attention from a number of Serie A clubs, according to reports. Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb are claiming Zaniolo is on the radar of AC Milan this summer, while Napoli and Fiorentina are also keeping an eye on his situation.

Zaniolo, who Villa have an option to buy from Galatasaray at the end of his loan, has made 15 Premier League appearances under Emery this season, with his one league goal coming against Sheffield United just before Christmas. The 24-year-old spent time at Fiorentina as a youngster, before stints at Virtus Entalla and Inter Milan led to a switch to Roma, where he made his name as a young player.