Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris has not been coy about sharing his views on the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) over the course of the last 12 months or so.

Sawiris, who owns Villa with Wes Edens through their NSWE vehicle, has been a vocal critic of the financial regulation in the Premier League believing them to be obstructive for clubs that want to challenge the established elite of the so-called ‘big six’.

Villa, who earned a shot at lucrative UEFA Champions League football this season after upsetting the odds in 2023/24 to finish fourth, have been hamstrung in trying to build on last season, limited by the losses, capped at £105m over a three-year period, minus allowable deductions for such things as infrastructure investment, spend on the academy, the women’s team and community initiatives. It has meant Villa boss Unai Emery has had to wheel and deal to realise some profit in the accounts on player sales.

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Sawiris, speaking to the Financial Times last summer, said: "Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport. "The rules do not make sense and are not good for football.

"Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter rather than looking at what your team needs. "It's more about creating paper profits, not real profits. It becomes a financial game, not a sporting game.”

Sawiris’ words will have resonated with a number of club owners, not least Nottingham Forest chief Evangelos Marinakis, whose side, along with Everton were hit with a points deduction last season for breaching PSR.

But what do the current and future prospects look like for Villa when it comes to compliance with PSR?

According to figures presented by football finance expert Swiss Ramble, Villa should fly under the PSR radar when it comes to the 2023/24 season, a financial year that ended on June 30 for Villa due to them opting to extend the financial year by a further month to 13 months, a manoeuvre allowed by Companies House, so that additional revenue could be realised.

Villa lost almost £120m for the 2022/23 accounting period, but Swiss Ramble figures estimate that the loss this time around will be around £82m. With allowable deductions of around £27m, up £3m from the previous year, and with the June player sales of the likes of Tim Iroegbunam, Omari Kellyman and Douglas Luiz realising profit, and to be accounted for in the soon-to-be published 2023/24 accounts, the PSR net result for the year is estimated to be a negative £20m.

What that means in terms of the rolling three-year picture, which includes a positive PSR net result of £22m for 2021/22, a period when Villa sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for £100m, and a £96m PSR deficit for 2022/23, is that Villa are estimated to fall £12m under the threshold for PSR for the current assessment period, meaning that they are likely to escape any Premier League punishment for breaching.

However, there is work to be done, and the desire for Villa to raise the PSR threshold to £135m from £105m over three years, which they argued in favour of, is understandable given the tight breathing space.

The Swiss Ramble figures forecast that, as things stand, Villa would only be able to post a £17m loss in 2024/25 to be compliant with PSR, and that takes into consideration the increased revenue that is to be enjoyed this season, a rise of some £45m anticipated.

Should Villa continue to go deeper into the Champions League then they could solve some problems without having to look at player trading, but the more likely, and safer scenario is that January sees some player exits of fringe members of the squad, or if a major bid arrives for the likes of Jhon Duran, where £60m has been suggested as a price tag, it would be something likely considered seriously.

Extending the financial year into June means that there is time for Villa to sell players at the end of the season and book profits, but the requirement for clubs like Villa, who are upwardly mobile, to have to operate within such restrictive circumstances that stymie their attempts at building a more competitive squad, will continue to rankle with Sawiris.

For 2023/24, at least, it looks like Villa will be fine. Looking ahead to the current financial year there is plenty of legwork to be done to ensure compliance, but they have the time to be able to make it work.