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Kieran Maguire: Aston Villa £100m plot will close gap to 'Big Six'
Aston Villa can be a ‘disruptor’ to the Premier League’s big six after their £100million redevelopment of Villa Park.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the importance of Villa expanding their stadium.
The Birmingham-based side got the green light for the redesign of their Villa Park expansion last Monday (2 October).
The project is expected to cost around £100million and will expand the stadium capacity to 50,000.
As revealed by Football Insider, Villa’s matchday revenue is set to grow to over £35million per season once the expansion is completed.
Villa posted matchday revenue of £16million in their latest 2021/22 accounts.
Maguire believes the boost to revenue will help Villa close the gap to the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’, with Man City their closest rival.
“It’s absolutely essential,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“If Aston Villa want to establish themselves as a disruptor to the Big Six, then they need to be able to pay wages that are competitive.
“It looks as if the Premier League will adopt some form of cost control measure, which is linked to wages and revenue.
“In order to maximise that, clubs have got to look at all revenue streams.
“Therefore, extending or improving Villa Park so that it can move from £20million in matchday income to close the gap to Manchester City’s £55million – which is the lowest of the ‘Big Six’.
“Manchester United and Spurs are at around £120million and Arsenal will exceed £100million this season in the Champions League.
“Villa don’t want to start the season effectively £80 or £90million behind the people they want to chase down.“
In other news, Everton in advanced talks to agree deal with controversial Aston Villa partner