Unai Emery’s frustration was evident.
He had just watched his Aston Villa side lose 1-0 at home to Everton to miss the chance to go second in the Premier League.
He refused to answer a question about why other teams had more top-five potential than Villa, staying silent until the interview ended as if to underline his fury.
“We are not contenders to be in the top five,” he told Sky Sports.
“There are other teams with more potential than us.”
Financial restrictions have already impacted Villa’s January business. The club missed out on signing Conor Gallagher, who joined Tottenham.
Forward Donyell Malen, Villa’s second top scorer this season, has been sold, while squad depth and growing injury worries have added to Emery’s problems.
So does Villa’s season hinge on the final two weeks of the transfer window?
There are several factors which will affect Emery’s mood.
In an ideal world, he wanted to keep Malen but, given the forward’s limited game time – he made only seven Premier League starts after joining from Borussia Dortmund last year – Malen wanted to leave.
He scored on his debut for Roma on Sunday as Villa toiled against Everton, with just Evann Guessand remaining in the squad to support Ollie Watkins up front.
Guessand has been linked with a move away, as a possible sweetener in the deal to get Roma’s Tammy Abraham out of his loan at Besiktas, but he is happy at Villa, who are looking to develop him.
Another sore point for Emery is the failed pursuit of Gallagher after Tottenham hijacked the deal, underlining the financial reality Villa live in.
The England midfielder joined Spurs for £35m. Villa wanted a loan-to-buy deal but Spurs were able to offer the money up front.
It is the balancing act Emery has to get right while Villa walk the financial tightrope, which has harmed them in more ways than one.
Gallagher would have at least eased a growing midfield injury crisis, with Emery losing John McGinn on Sunday while he was already sweating on Boubacar Kamara’s fitness and Amadou Onana already out.
There are also no plans for Leon Bailey to return from his loan at Roma, despite his struggles.
This month Villa have signed Gremio winger Alysson and 17-year-old striker Brian Madjo from Metz – both with a view to the future.
Villa are third in the Premier League, well placed in the Europa League before travelling to Fenerbahce on Thursday, and still in the FA Cup.
“Emery’s got credit in the bank,” said Mo Razzaq, chairman of Aston Villa Supporters’ Trust.
“There’s no a silver bullet, where we can go out and buy who we want. We need to be quite prudent and careful.
“Gallagher would have been a valuable addition with his experience. John McGinn is not getting any younger, but would he have started week in, week out? Probably not. So Spurs have come in. We know the constraints we operate in and we move on.
“The club aren’t in a position to be in a bidding war. I don’t think we’re overly concerned.”
Villa tried to change the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) in 2024 but failed to get the loss limit raised from £105m to £135m over three years after the proposal was rejected at the Premier League’s AGM.
Co-owner Nassef Sawiris previously said the rules “do not make sense” because they cement the bigger clubs’ powers.
To comply, Villa had to sell, and Jacob Ramsey went to Newcastle for £40m in the summer, the academy graduate banking pure profit for Villa.
Yet Villa had been sanctioned by Uefa in July, along with Chelsea, and fined £9.5m for breaching financial rules.
It is those regulations which football finance expert Kieran Maguire says are holding Villa back.
“They are operating with the handbrake on because of legacy issues which impact the Premier League PSR rules, but I do think Uefa rules are the main issue,” he said.
“Because both Chelsea and Villa were sanctioned by Uefa in the summer, that effectively means that, in cash terms, they’ve got to balance how much they spend on players compared to how much they generate.
“With Conor Gallagher, they wanted a loan to the end of the season as they couldn’t afford him because they would have probably been in breach of Uefa rules, and that’s proving to be the problem.”
With Villa eight points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United in the Premier League, a return to the Champions League next season is increasingly likely, which would almost end their financial concerns, according to Maguire.
“If they make it they will be in an incredibly strong position because they can factor in a minimum of £40m coming in next season,” he said.
“With modest progress to the last 16 or the last eight, you’re going to be matching that £72m they made last season. It will certainly increase the playing budget and you need that.”
