Consortium ‘planning to bid’ for Aston Villa

A consortium is reported to be considering a bid for Aston Villa after the club’s failure to win promotion to the Premier League last month.

Former football agent Matt Southall has been named by The Sun as leading a group that has previously shown an interest in two other Championship clubs and are now “planning to bid” for Aston Villa.

The club faces a difficult summer of cutting costs in order to meet financial fair play (FFP) rules, which operate on a rolling three-year total.

Dr Tony Xia bought the Championship club two years ago and invested in an attempt to win promotion. However the club failed on the final day of the season, being beaten by Fulham in the play-off final.

Aston Villa chairman Dr Tony Xia

Xia, who bought Aston Villa for £76m from Randy Lerner in 2016, issued a long statement in the aftermath of that defeat.

“We are all aware that we will face severe FFP challenges next season,” he said. “I am an Aston Villa fan. But I am also a businessman.”

The club has already released high earners John Terry and Gabby Agbonlahor as it begins its attempts to balance the books. However the financial restrictions are almost certain to make it harder for the club to sustain a promotion challenge next season.

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