Aston Villa 'not there for the taking' as Chris Heck makes worldwide claim

American Heck was brought to Villa by co-owner Wes Edens last May in a bid to boost the club's profit and revenues streams.

His appointment has arrived amid a purple patch on the pitch under head coach Unai Emery with Villa third in the Premier League as of Sunday morning with the chance to go level on points with leaders Liverpool by winning at Everton today.

With that, naturally, could bring interest in some of Emery's prized assets, including 15-goal top scorer Ollie Watkins, long-term target of rivals Douglas Luiz and World Cup winning goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

Heck, though, speaking to Sunday Times business, is not concerned – and insists the days Villa are there for the taking are gone.

"They can try all they want," said the 49-year-old former Philadelphia 76ers basketball boss. "But maybe we'll try to buy one of their players. I think this idea that we're here for the taking is dated. And we need to move on from that.

"We're not going away, I can assure you of that.

"When I started here, this was a very proficient and well-run group. But it was focused, at least in my opinion, on the Midlands. We are now focused on the world."

Villa appear to be flourishing, though not everything has been smooth sailing away from the pitch. There have been unpopular moves like the changing of the club's badge once again, for the second time in two seasons, where the club's fan advisory board complained to the Football Association about a lack of engagement.

Premium ticket pricing, including in the new Holte End Terrace View Area, have also been criticised by sections of supporters.

Heck also decided against the decision to rebuild the North Stand at Villa Park, which would have lifted the capacity from 42,600 to north of 50,000. The planning permission had been granted prior to his arrival, but Heck had concerns of a reduced capacity to 34,000 while the work took place, and a current lack of infrastructure around the stadium to host more supporters.

The American believes there is not enough parking, trains to and from nearby Witton and matchday facilities for more fans.

"It's very tricky to satisfy all, but that's the mission," he added. "I think we have the infrastructure to succeed even if we have a patch of bad luck."

Heck moved from New York Red Bull FC to Philadelphia 76ers as head of sales and marketing in 2013. He was promoted to president in 2017 until 2022, in which time he more than doubled revenue and profit. The 76ers value climbed from estimated 800million dollars to more than three billion dollars.

Edens, also a co-owner of Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, was key to Heck's arrival. The operations boss, who effectively holds a chief executive role, confirmed his plans to turn an old North Stand reception warehouse into a hospitality area, as well as a complete rebuild of the players' tunnel, to make it more intimidating.

He aims to double sponsorship income streams, through shirt, stadium and online advertisement, to improve social media presence and sell shirts far and wide, taking advantage of a stunning campaign.

The club are also filming their ongoing campaign behind the scenes, in the hope of selling its rights to a bidder towards the end of the season.