Aston Villa face having to sell key players unless they can qualify for the Champions League again - or go a long way in this season's competition.
Unai Emery's side finished fourth in the Premier League last term to reach Europe's biggest club competition and are now on the verge of the knockout stages.
But repeating that finish looks difficult this time around and Villa are restricted by Premier League spending rules, despite being owned by billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
Boss Emery said: 'Of course profit and sustainability rules are sometimes stopping us in how we can improve, but the idea is to try to keep moving forward.