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Like many, Villa are a selling club, mainly due to necessity, and have been for a number of years.
They must comply with Uefa's squad cost ratio (SCR) which restricts them to spending 70% of their football related revenue on player and staff wages, transfer fees and agent fees.
They have already been fined twice by Uefa for breaches, being hit with a £9.5m sanction last year and a £19.4m fine in June, although £12.9m was suspended after Villa came to a settlement agreement with Europe's governing body. But it has meant the club's hands are tied in the transfer window.
The Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) also limited financial losses to a maximum of £105 million over a rolling three-year period.
In their latest accounts, ending 30 June 2025, Villa had a post-tax profit of £17m but their two previous years showed losses of £119.6m (2023) and £85.4m (2024).
The regulations have now been replaced by SCR, which sees the Premier League fall in line with Uefa's model
"It's necessity because of the rules," one former Villa executive told BBC Sport, when asked about the sales. "The PSR, the SCR, issues are well documented.
"It does seem slightly unfair they're having their ambition capped at this level. But it has forced this very big churn of players, which is unfortunate.
"Some will be forced due to PSR, some will be player demand. Combined it makes a big problem for Emery and certainly it is a lot to swallow in one go and to try and replace. "
This summer has crystalised their situation further because of the high profile nature of the departures.
Villa had raised just over £200m with the sales of Jhon Duran (£71m), Douglas Luiz (£42.5m), Jacob Ramsey (£40m) and Moussa Diaby (£50m) over the past two years.
This window will see them bank, once the Konsa deal goes through, around £212m, including £9m for Lewis Dobbin who never played a senior game for Villa before leaving for Southampton.
The academy has also paid its way comfortably with Jaden Philogene and Cameron Archer being bought back to be sold again, while Burnley spent £12m on Aaron Ramsey in 2023.
Internally, when Villa first returned to the Champions League in 2024, it was recognised it would be harder for academy prospects to break into the squad which left Villa more open to selling them.
