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Aston Villa in meltdown and face an uncertain future

Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia.

Aston Villa have had an eventful few weeks, losing in the Championship playoff final to Fulham, dealing with rumours that chairman Tony Xai was looking to cut his losses and run, while having a manager unaware of his future at the club.

Things have spiralled even further as the Villans’ have recently suspended their chief executive over a missed tax payment. The Midlands outfit have been served with a winding up order by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and have one week to pay.

Villa are in meltdown.

CEO suspended

Aston Villa released a statement on Tuesday that revealed chief executive Keith Wyness had been suspended as a result of the winding up order from HMRC. Villa reportedly missed the tax payment on Friday and face a winding up order if the money isn’t paid within seven days.

“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,” the statement read.

Wyness was appointed CEO in 2016, not long after Xia completed his takeover of Villa. He’s worked with Aberdeen and Everton in the past, but it’s unknown if he’ll return to Villa or be removed from his position.

Manager future unknown

Villa manager Steve Bruce is currently in the dark about his future at the club. The Midlands outfit are resigned to a third consecutive season in the Championship and Xia hasn’t made any guarantee that he’ll be taking charge of the club for 2018/19.

The 57-year-old was appointed Villa manager in October 2016 and led the club to 13th in the Championship (2016/17) and fourth the following season. Villa lost to Fulham in the playoff final and now Bruce doesn’t know where he stands.

Bruce won promotion to the Premier League four times as a manager, but he may not make it a fifth with Villa. The club are set to overhaul the squad to ensure they meet with Financial Fair Play regulations, meaning they could struggle in the Championship next season. If so many players are forced to depart, Bruce may feel promotion is impossible which could see him step down.

Club up for sale amid financial ruin?

Xia already admitted big changes were needed at Villa to meet with FFP this summer, saying: “We are all aware that we will face severe FFP challenges next season. I am an Aston Villa fan. But I am also a businessman. We have been heavily investing for the past two seasons. However, the (playoff final) loss means that we need to change a lot of things”.

Such issues could see Xia putting the club up for sale and cutting his losses, as a consortium headed by ex-football agent Matt Southall is reportedly keen to purchase Villa. If Xia gets back the £60m he paid to Randy Lerner for the Midlands club in 2016, he may sell up. Villa need to cut their costs drastically and won’t be promotion contenders if abiding by FFP regulations sees them losing all their best players.

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