Under PSR, Premier League clubs cannot make a loss of more than £105m over a rolling three-year period. The most effective way to make up any shortfall? Sell an academy player.
“Clubs have been able to just trade academy players between each other and that would automatically go into their accounts,” BBC Sport’s football issues correspondent Dale Johnson explains.
“It would create profit when all they’re doing is swapping players. So it was basically a way of getting around the regulations, increasing your limits and these academy players were being used as commodities.”
There have been other clear examples of clubs reluctantly cashing in on their academy stars to get above the PSR threshold. Elliot Anderson’s move from Newcastle United to Nottingham Forest in 2024 is one.
“I do think it is slightly sad that academy products are now seen as a vehicle to sell and generate profit,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.
Last summer, Newcastle signed Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa, who were also under PSR pressure. Villa stars John McGinn and Tyrone Mings both shared their frustration in public over the sale.
Everton, who were twice sanctioned for breaches of PSR, cashed in on Anthony Gordon in January 2023 despite being in the thick of a relegation battle.
Vaughan said the rules were “always at the forefront of our mind” when he worked at Everton.
And former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca blamed PSR when they sold Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid in 2024: “The intention from Chelsea is not to sell – but the rules in the end make us.”
There are legitimate concerns in football over a system that incentivises these sales.
“I think the game was uneasy with it,” Johnson added. “Some of these players might not have wanted to move, but in some respects, being told ‘we need you to move to get round these financial rules’.”
There are changes coming in the form of new squad cost ratios in an attempt to combat such deals.
“As of 1 July, although it’s an annual assessment, the cost of any player you sell is split over three years,” Johnson explains. “So if you sell a player for £40m from then, you can only solve £13m of your financial problems straight away.”
Vaughan believes there could be positives from these changes.
“I do think it could have a roundabout effect in a positive light, because of the profit the clubs are generating off these youth sales,” he says. “Will that mean they invest more into the young players to develop them at a better level?”
The talent is there to develop in the English game. England have won the past two Under-21 European Championships and, after their win in 2023, the nation’s youth teams had won five major tournaments in six years. But finding a balance between rules and romanticism will be a challenge for all parties invested in a youngster’s progression.
“It’s a long journey for everyone,” Vaughan says. “No matter how early you get there.”
Stats provided by BBC Sport journalists Sophie Brown and Chris Adams
