Aston Villa play down takeover talk with Steve Bruce's future still uncertain
Villa claim to have received no contact from any consortium following reports the club could be subject to a takeover bid.
A group of British businessmen, fronted by football agent turned fashion entrepreneur Matt Southall, are thought to be considering a move following Villa’s failure to win promotion to the Premier League.
The prospect of a third season in the Championship has left owner Tony Xia facing a financial nightmare and there is a belief the Beijing businessman, who purchased Villa for £76.2million from Randy Lerner two years ago, could be ready to cut his losses.
Yet for the moment there has been no contact and a sale, from Xia’s perspective, is understood to be very much a last resort.
Villa must find around £40million in player sales and wage cuts this summer in order to comply with Financial Fair Play rules next season.
The future of Steve Bruce remains very much in the air, with Xia thought to be still be wavering over whether to stick with the manager.
One man who is poised to depart Villa Park this summer is chief domestic scout Tony Coton.
The former Blues and Watford goalkeeper, who has worked at Villa since 2016, is set to move to Sunderland following their relegation to League One.
