Aston Villa landed Dean Smith as their new manager last week.
Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow has told The Express and Star that the club will back Dean Smith with January transfer funds despite the club’s Financial Fair Play situation.
Villa took the decision to sack manager Steve Bruce earlier this month, bringing an end to his two-year spell at Villa Park after just one win in nine games.
After links to Thierry Henry and Rui Faria, Villa did land their new boss on Wednesday night, with Smith deciding to leave Brentford for a dream move to Villa Park.
Smith grew up supporting Villa and has now achieved a dream by making the move, which some has raised eyebrows at given that Brentford look a stronger side than Villa this season.
The emotional pull will have certainly been a factor for Smith, but also he needs backing from new owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris in order to take Villa back to the top flight.
Edens and Sawiris certainly have the funds, but the priority for Villa is complying with Financial Fair Play regulations after a turbulent summer, though recent loan deals for Yannick Bolasie and Tammy Abraham suggests they’re okay.
Now, Villa chief executive Purslow has told The Express and Star that he’s confident Villa will comply with the regulations, and are determined to back Smith and new sporting director Jesu Garcia Pitarch with a healthy budget to land new signings in January, with Villa more than ready to have players moving in and out when the January transfer window opens.
“I’m not just confident, I’m highly respectful of the regime,” said Purslow. “The profitability and sustainability rules that govern the league we play in are part of the broader fair play regime that, many years ago, I sat on the working group and brought those rules in. We’re highly respectful of them and are of course navigating within those rules. It changes nothing. We are determined to support our new management team in improving this squad where needing to do so and can easily do so with the financial resources within the rules.”
“Jesus has enormous experience with two Spanish clubs, Valencia and Atletico Madrid in a sporting director capacity. I expect Dean, Jesus, myself in the next four to eight weeks to listen to Dean’s initial assessment of the squad, to talk to Jesus and to build a plan for the season and the future. If that includes players leaving and joining in January, then that will be absolutely fine,” he added.
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