After having faced a disappointment in their bid to achieve promotion to the Premier League, Aston Villa will go through a summer of reckoning ahead of next season.
The Villans tripped at the final hurdle in their attempt to return to the top flight, as they were beaten by Fulham 1-0 in the playoff finals. To make matters worse, the club are understood to be facing Financial Fair Play sanctions this summer.
As per a report from the Birmingham Live, Villa have to generate as much as £40m-£45m from player sales and wage cuts if they are to fall under the FFP guidelines, failing which they will be facing repercussions. To that end, here are three players that the Midlands’ outfit should offload this summer.
Pierluigi Gollini
The 23-year-old goalkeeper is a bit of a forgotten man around Villa Park, having been sent out on loan to Italian outfit Atalanta BC eighteen months ago. The Italian was signed from Hellas Verona back in the summer of 2016 but he never managed to impress Steve Bruce.
He made 20 appearances in the first half of his debut campaign before being shipped off to Italy, where he has largely been an understudy to first-choice keeper Etrit Berisha.
However, Atalanta are understood to be keen on signing him permanently this summer and Villa should cash in on the former Manchester United youth team player at the earliest.
Jack Grealish
The 22-year-old Englishman was one of Villa’s best players in the recently concluded season and while the club and the fans would love to see him stay come next season, the FFP situation might force their hands into selling the player this summer.
Grealish finished the season with 3 goals and 8 assists from 34 appearances across all competitions and his performances have seen him attract a number of Premier League sides, including the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal, along with Leicester City.
It is understood that for any deal to go through, Villa will demand a fee in excess of £25million, which would help them a great deal in their FFP situation, making his sale a strong possibility.
Ross McCormack
The Scottish forward joined Aston Villa from Fulham back in the summer of 2016 for a fee of £12million but has been a huge disappointment since his arrival.
McCormack featured just 20 times in his debut campaign with the Villans and managed just three goals before being shipped out on loan to Nottingham Forest in January, where he again failed to make an impression.
The 31-year-old was then loaned out to Australian club Melbourne City for the first half of the 2017/18 campaign, where he fared decently but he did not feature for Bruce’s side upon his return in January.
It is very clear that the striker has no future at the club and given the wages that he commands, the club should definitely sell him this summer.