Aston Villa suspend chief executive Keith Wyness after missing tax payment

It is understood the club failed to pay a tax bill due last Friday and have now been given a week to submit the funds by HMRC.

Villa, who were beaten by Fulham in last month's Championship play-off final, insist they are working with the tax office in order to resolve the issue.

The news has emerged at the same time as the club suspended Wyness with immediate effect.

A statement on the club website read: “Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that chief executive, Keith Wyness, has been suspended by the club with immediate effect.

“Owner and chairman, Dr Tony Xia will assume the role until further notice.

“There will be no further comment from the club at this time.”

The news comes amid an already testing few weeks for Villa, who were already facing up to a financial nightmare following their failure to win promotion to the Premier League.

It is understood the club need to raise around £40million in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations next term.

Xia, who purchased the club for £76.2million from Randy Lerner two years ago, had already warned of sweeping changes.

Revelations over the missed tax payment, however, will leave supporters fearing the financial outlook is even worse than they might have imagined.

Doubts still remain over the future of Steve Bruce, with Xia still pondering whether to stick with the manager.