'It Smacks of Laziness' - Keith Wyness sends message to NSWE over £38.4m Aston Villa reveal

Aston Villa’s ownership need to be asking questions about why the club are paying huge amounts in agent fees.

That is according to former Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking to Football Insider, who has concerns about the club’s negotiating skills.

Aston Villa paid agents £38.4million between February 2025 and February 2026, with only Chelsea recording a higher bill.

It was an increase of £13.4m on the year previously for Aston Villa, the highest rise of any Premier League club.

That is despite Aston Villa’s restrictions in the transfer market in order to comply with financial rules, though the club have been active in tying down key players to long-term contracts.

Aston Villa slammed for ‘very poor’ agent-fee record

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes Aston Villa chiefs will have “big question marks” over how much the club are spending on agents.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks the club need to be “smarter” when dealing with agents.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “This is a big question mark that I would be asking if I’m Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris.

“I’d be saying, why are we paying so much? What am I paying my sporting technical directors for? Monchi’s gone. Why aren’t we spotting the talent and negotiating better deals for ourselves?

“They’re not a club that should be relying on agents for a lot of these deals, or at least being in a position where they can negotiate better agency deals. It’s very poor.

“It smacks of laziness, or they’ve found themselves walking into a position where agents can extract a big fee because they’ve made the club reliant on them in a particular situation. They’ve got to be two steps ahead of the agents and see these sorts of situations coming. 

“I’ve been there myself so many times, and you’ve got to be a little bit smarter and not get yourself boxed in where you demand, where the manager demands a certain player, and you have to deliver that player for the fans. You’ve got to be ahead of the game.”

How many players could Aston Villa sell this summer?

Aston Villa will look to raise money from player sales this summer, with the club desperate to keep Morgan Rogers.

Rogers has been a standout performer for Unai Emery’s side this season, and was one of the players rewarded with a new long-term contract last November.

Wyness told Football Insider that Aston Villa could sell up to six stars in order to keep Rogers, even though the club could demand a hefty transfer fee for the 23-year-old to improve their financial position.

There has been speculation that goalkeeper Emi Martinez and striker Ollie Watkins could be two of the highest-profile players to leave Villa Park this summer instead of Rogers.

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