Aston Villa appoint former Liverpool and Chelsea boss as chief executive

Aston Villa has appointed its fourth chief executive in four years, turning to former Liverpool and Chelsea boss Christian Purslow.

Purslow has taken a minority stake in the club and the 54-year-old will take over day-to-day running of the club immediately.

He replaces Keith Wyness, whose departure in June brought the cash crisis at Villa Park into the public domain.

The Championship club’s off-field problems were eased in July when Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and co-owner of NBA team Milwaukee Bucks Wes Edens bought 55% of the club. Former owner Dr Tony Xia has retained a stake.

Purslow was managing director of Chelsea from 2014 to 2017 and chief executive of Liverpool FC from 2009 to 2010.

In a statement, Sawiris and Edens said: “We are tremendously excited to bring someone of Christian’s calibre and experience into the Club. This is an important step on our journey to return Aston Villa back to the elite of English football.”