Aston Villa’s top four ambitions have received a “positive boost” following a big PSR update, according to football finance specialist Dan Plumley.

The Villans were on the verge of receiving a 10-point deduction when Douglas Luiz joined Juventus (Daily Mail, September 3).

Unai Emery’s move of Luiz to Turin secured compliance with financial fair play standards, which Plumley feels would benefit Villa’s Champions League qualification.

“It’s really significant,” he told Villa News.

“We noticed a lot of movement in and around that 30 June date with a number of teams who we believed were close to the edges, and we’ve probably been proven right on that one.

“For Villa in particular, if there are speculations of a 10-point deduction, it’s a great advantage for them on the pitch this season that they won’t have to deal with it.

“They’re back in the Champions League and Europe; can you repeat the trick? That is the next step for them today.

“Will they be in the top four again this season? It remains to be seen whether they can, but if they had started the season with a 10-point deficit, it would have been a difficult task to even qualify for the European playoffs.

“So it’s pretty significant, especially if that specific transaction was able to assist them out and assuage their anxieties while resulting in no 10-point deduction.

“That’s a really positive boost for the club and stands up against what we saw at the time when a lot of clubs were doing deals to help out the PSR calculation.”

Has Aston Villa complied with PSR, or might they face a point deduction?

Losing Luiz will have been a setback for Emery’s team on the pitch this season, but it will have been a cost worth paying if it means they can still fight at the top of the Premier League table.