Aston Villa's summer 2026 transfer window: what happened and what it did to their squad-cost position

Aston Villa made 11 confirmed signings and 10 confirmed sales in the summer 2026 transfer window, a disclosed-fee net sales balance of £54.6m. PSRwatch estimates the window's net effect at £71.3m a year of squad cost, leaving the club at about 95.9% against the Premier League's 85% Green Threshold (Levy zone).
£252m disclosed
£307m disclosed
Levy zone - PSRwatch estimate
The summer 2026 transfer window opened on 1 June 2026 and closed on 1 September 2026 at 7pm UK time. This review covers every confirmed permanent move in PSRwatch's transfer ledger for Aston Villa in that window. It then sets out what those deals do to the club's position under the Premier League's squad-cost rules for 2026/27. Every financial figure on this page is a PSRwatch estimate built from filed accounts and provider transfer data. None of it is an official Premier League calculation. Fees that were never made public stay labelled undisclosed rather than being guessed.
How the window went
Aston Villa finished the summer 2026 transfer window with 11 confirmed signings (£252m in disclosed fees, plus 2 undisclosed) and 10 confirmed sales (£307m disclosed). On disclosed fees alone, that makes them a net seller at £54.6m net sales. It is the 20th largest disclosed net spend of the 20 Premier League clubs this window. Undisclosed fees are never added to these totals. Where a fee was not made public, the deal is counted but not priced.
The headline arrival was Johan Manzambi at a disclosed £50.4m. That ranks the club 5th in the league for disclosed spending on signings this window.
Alongside the permanent business, the ledger records 7 loan moves. Loan deals are listed in the table below but kept out of the fee totals. The totals follow the same disclosed-fees-only rule as the PSRwatch Deadline Day hub.
Every confirmed deal
| Player | Move | From/To | Fee | Contract | Est. annual squad-cost change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Loan in | West Ham United | Free / nominal | 1 yr | £4.5m/yr |
| Alejandro Garnacho | Loan in | Chelsea | Free / nominal | 1 yr | £5.2m/yr |
| Andrés García | Loan out | Getafe CF | Free / nominal | 1 yr | -£4.5m/yr |
| Brian Madjo | In | Aston Villa U21 | Undisclosed | 4 yrs | £13.7m/yr |
| Donyell Malen | Out | AS Roma | £21m | - | -£5.7m/yr |
| Emiliano Martínez | Out | Chelsea | £7.4m | - | -£6m/yr |
| Enzo Barrenechea | Out | SL Benfica | £10.1m | - | -£4.1m/yr |
| Ezri Konsa | Out | Arsenal FC | £50.1m | - | -£11m/yr |
| George Hemmings | In | Aston Villa U21 | Undisclosed | 4 yrs | £13.7m/yr |
| Ibrahim Mbaye | In | Paris Saint-Germain | £46.2m | 4 yrs | £20m/yr |
| João Gomes | In | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £33.6m | 4 yrs | £14.9m/yr |
| Joe Gauci | Loan out | Lincoln City | Free / nominal | 1 yr | -£4.1m/yr |
| Johan Manzambi | In | SC Freiburg | £50.4m | 4 yrs | £21.4m/yr |
| Kosta Nedeljkovic | Loan out | Rangers FC | Free / nominal | 1 yr | -£4.5m/yr |
| Leon Bailey | Out | Olympiacos Piraeus | £4.2m | - | -£4.3m/yr |
| Leon Goretzka | In | Bayern Munich | Free / nominal | 3 yrs | £4.5m/yr |
| Lewis Dobbin | Out | Southampton FC | £8.8m | - | -£4.7m/yr |
| Lucas Digne | Out | Paris Saint-Germain | £5.9m | - | -£3.7m/yr |
| Matteo Ruggeri | In | Atlético de Madrid | £21m | 4 yrs | £10.5m/yr |
| Modou Kéba Cissé | In | LASK | £4.6m | 4 yrs | £4.8m/yr |
| Morgan Rogers | Out | Chelsea | £116m | - | -£19m/yr |
| Nicolas Jackson | In | Chelsea | £46.6m | 4 yrs | £20.1m/yr |
| Oliwier Zych | Loan out | Vitória Guimarães SC | Free / nominal | 1 yr | -£4.1m/yr |
| Ollie Watkins | Out | Al-Hilal SFC | £49.1m | - | -£8.1m/yr |
| Samuel Iling-Junior | Loan out | Bolton Wanderers | Free / nominal | 1 yr | -£5.2m/yr |
| Taylor Harwood-Bellis | In | Southampton FC | £24.5m | 4 yrs | £11.7m/yr |
| Youri Tielemans | Out | Manchester United | £34.4m | - | -£9.3m/yr |
| Zion Suzuki | In | Parma Calcio 1913 | £25.2m | 4 yrs | £11.6m/yr |
The signings that move the needle
Johan Manzambi arrived from SC Freiburg for a disclosed £50.4m fee on a 4-year contract. Spread over the contract, the fee adds an estimated £13.2m a year of amortisation. Add wages of about £8.2m a year and the estimated squad-cost impact comes to about £21.4m a year. That is worth roughly 4.6 percentage points on Aston Villa's squad-cost ratio.
Nicolas Jackson arrived from Chelsea for a disclosed £46.6m fee on a 4-year contract. Spread over the contract, the fee adds an estimated £12.2m a year of amortisation. Add wages of about £7.9m a year and the estimated squad-cost impact comes to about £20.1m a year. That is worth roughly 4.3 percentage points on Aston Villa's squad-cost ratio.
Ibrahim Mbaye arrived from Paris Saint-Germain for a disclosed £46.2m fee on a 4-year contract. Spread over the contract, the fee adds an estimated £12.1m a year of amortisation. Add wages of about £7.8m a year and the estimated squad-cost impact comes to about £20m a year. That is worth roughly 4.3 percentage points on Aston Villa's squad-cost ratio.
Aston Villa also completed 2 signings with an undisclosed fee (Brian Madjo, George Hemmings). PSRwatch models these internally so the club's forecast stays complete. No invented fee ever appears in public totals.
The sales side
Morgan Rogers left for Chelsea for a disclosed £116m fee. The deal books an estimated £75.4m of profit over remaining book value. With the wages and amortisation off the books, the estimated squad-cost effect is about -£19m a year.
Ezri Konsa left for Arsenal FC for a disclosed £50.1m fee. The deal books an estimated £32.5m of profit over remaining book value. With the wages and amortisation off the books, the estimated squad-cost effect is about -£11m a year.
What it does to the squad-cost position
Adding up every deal whose effect can be responsibly estimated, the window's confirmed business comes to an estimated £71.3m a year of extra squad cost, worth about 15.2 percentage points on the ratio. The squad-cost ratio compares player wages, amortisation of transfer fees and related squad costs against football revenue plus net profit on player sales. Signings push the ratio up through wages and amortisation. Sales pull it down by taking both off the books.
PSRwatch's estimate puts Aston Villa at 95.9%, over the 85% Green Threshold. That means an estimated luxury-style levy on the overspend. It is a fine, not points. The club is still roughly £88.8m short of the 115% Red Threshold, where sporting sanctions begin.
What to watch next
The window is shut until January 2027. The squad-cost picture now moves with results, revenue and contract changes rather than fees. The next hard data point is the club's 2026/27 accounts filing. Until then, you can track the estimated position on the Aston Villa club page or stress-test a January signing in the transfer calculator. All 20 clubs are compared on the league rankings and in the summer window review.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Aston Villa spend in the summer 2026 window?
£252m in disclosed fees on 11 confirmed signings, plus 2 deals with undisclosed fees that PSRwatch does not price publicly. Disclosed sales brought in £307m.
Are Aston Villa at risk under the Premier League squad-cost rules?
PSRwatch's estimate puts Aston Villa at 95.9%, over the 85% Green Threshold. That means an estimated luxury-style levy on the overspend. It is a fine, not points. The club is still roughly £88.8m short of the 115% Red Threshold, where sporting sanctions begin.
What was Aston Villa's biggest signing of the window?
Johan Manzambi, at a disclosed £50.4m - the club's largest disclosed fee of the summer 2026 transfer window.
Methodology
PSRwatch figures are independent estimates built from filed accounts, provider transfer and wage data, and PSRwatch modelling. They are not official Premier League, EFL or UEFA calculations. Where a fee or wage is unconfirmed we say so, and undisclosed fees are never presented as real numbers.
Sources
Related articles
Ibrahim Mbaye's £46.2m move to Aston Villa, translated into annual squad cost and what it does to the club's room against the Premier League's 115% Red Threshold (the points-risk line) and 85% Green Threshold (the levy line).
Nicolas Jackson's £46.6m move to Aston Villa, translated into annual squad cost and what it does to the club's room against the Premier League's 115% Red Threshold (the points-risk line) and 85% Green Threshold (the levy line).
Ollie Watkins's £49.1m sale by Aston Villa, translated into annual squad cost and what it does to the club's room against the Premier League's 115% Red Threshold (the points-risk line) and 85% Green Threshold (the levy line).