Aston Villa set to be forced into transfer firesale despite making Champions League after highest loss in Europe

ASTON VILLA are set to sell at least one star name this summer  despite bagging a £50million Champions League payday.

There is unlikely to be any spending spree — and fans can all but rule out a romantic reunion with Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, even for a £50m fee.

SunSport can reveal Villa will not access their European windfall until much later next season.

And they reported a record loss of £119.6m up to May 2023 —  the highest in Europe, according to Uefa.

The Prem’s Profit and Sustainability Rules only allow losses of £105m over three years and Villa expect to be close to the limit next month so may have to sell.

Homegrown Jacob Ramsey could be sold if Villa’s asking price in excess of £50m is met — and it would be pure profit since he is an academy graduate.

Brazilian Douglas Luiz is a long-time target for Arsenal and Villa have now paid off his £15m fee to City.

Villa confirmed their place in next season's Champions League after Tottenham's defeat on Tuesday night.

Their 2-0 loss to City means Unai Emery's side cannot be caught in fourth place going into the final day.

Next season will mark a return to the competition for the first time since 1983.

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Villa reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup 41 years ago having won the competition the previous campaign.

However, they have not appeared since and will be making their first appearance since the competition was rebranded as the Champions League.

Emery previously secured a return to Europe last season following a 12-year absence.

His side went on to reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League before losing 6-2 on aggregate to Olympiacos.