Express & Star

Egyptian consortium look set for Villa controlling stake

Tony Xia appears set to relinquish control of Villa to an Egyptian consortium – and a deal could be finalised in the next 24 hours.

Published
Last updated

The Express & Star understands the Middle East group would be ploughing between £30million and £35million into the club.

The massive cash injection would allay Villa's immediate money troubles and see the consortium take a 55 per cent stake, with the option to assume full control at a later time.

Villa were threatened by another cash crisis as bills are due imminently.

It is believed Xia secured a loan to see the club settle those, but still decided to press on with negotiations.

Xia reluctantly accepted a significant move towards a change of ownership had to be made earlier this week and flew to the UK to sort out the problems engulfing the club.

It is understood Xia has received a number of offers since the club's financial troubles were initially reported, ranging from a full buyout to a cash injection from the sale of a minority stake.

The Egyptian consortium were his preferred option and he is thought to have met the group in London for talks.

Villa have been in a difficult situation since their failure to secure promotion to the Premier League – losing 1-0 to Fulham in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

Chief executive Keith Wyness and director of football Steve Round have both left in recent months, and Steve Bruce said player sales were needed to meet Financial Fair Play guidelines.

The sale of one of the club's prized assets in Jack Grealish or James Chester would have helped the situation in the short-term, but Villa have yet to accept a bid for either player.

So far, Villa have seen John Terry, Chris Samba, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Pierluigi Gollini leave the club, reducing the wage bill.

It is believed they are also listening to offers for veteran midfielder Mile Jedinak, who is rumoured to earn £40,000-a-week.

Scott Hogan, Jonathan Kodjia and Birkir Bjarnason are also thought to have caught the attention of other clubs. Villa are yet to sign any players this summer.

The Egyptian group's deal to take a controlling stake at Villa would be subject to EFL approval.