Lerner sells Aston Villa to Chinese businessman for £60M

Aston Villa have been sold to Chinese businessman Xia Jiantong, the club announced on Wednesday.

Lerner bought the midlands club for 62.2 million pounds in 2006.

Owner Randy Lerner has been trying to offload the club for nearly two years but has recently attracted interest by slashing his asking price.

Billionaire Lerner put the club up for sale in 2014 but had so far failed to find a buyer, before Villa dropped out of the Premier League this season.

“His commitment to invest in the squad, and leadership at Bodymoor Heath was expressed early on but as we visited together, and had some unrushed time to discuss his plans, Tony’s excitement to develop Villa Park shone through”.

The deal is subject to approval from the Premier League and the Football League.

Aston Villa are set for a £60million takeover by Chinese businessman Dr Tony Xia.

Chairman Steve Hollis has been in China to finalise the sale.

The deal is still subject to Football League approval so don’t get too carried away yet Villa fans.

Dr Xia’s privately-owned Recon Group controls five publicly-listed companies on the Chinese and Hong Kong stock exchanges, as well as other private companies, in total employing 35,000 people in 75 countries, the statement said.

It is estimated that Dr Xia will pay between £60m and £70m for the club and the consortium also want to involve former Tottenham and Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli in the new set-up, but he has yet to be approached.

They are, according to Sky Sports, prepared to announce their manager who will lead Aston Villa (hopefully) back to the Premier League.

Who is Dr Tony Xia?

Xia also apparently became a Villa fan many years ago. “I remain convinced that this is a crucial part of the club’s future”.