American owner Randy Lerner has put Aston Villa up for sale. Lerner took control of the club in 2006 for £62.6 Million. The news was gladly welcomed by all Aston Villa fans who have been calling for the American to sell the club. Lerner values the club at around £150 Million. He did warn the fans that it may take some time before a new owner would be found.
There are rumoured to be several parties interested in the club, but there has been no concrete offers yet.
Aston Villa fans will be hoping the new owners will be willing to invest in the club, and perhaps even restore the glory days at the club. Aston Villa have won 7 Premiership titles in their history, but have not won it since 1981.
In an astonishing move, oil rich Arab billionaire Tamir Sayyid Nasser Bahiyy al Din has bought Aston Villa Football Club in a deal thought to be worth £150 Million. He has promised the fans that he will be putting plenty of money into the club, and sees the club as a future rival for Manchester City.
He also said that he was happy for current manager Paul Lambert to stay on as manager. There will surely be more pressure on Lambert to perform though, especially as he has been rumoured to have been given a transfer budget of around £30 Million.
There has already been several players linked with the club, including Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes, CSKA Moscow midfielder Alan Dzagoev and Wolfsburg winger Vieirinha.
Aston Villa have made their first moves for new players since their takeover last week. Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes and Hoffenheim striker Kevin Volland are top of the list of players they want to sign. It is though they have tabled a bid of around £14 Million for Rhodes, and £13 Million for Volland.
Lambert was very high in praise for both of the players, saying that they displayed outstanding talents at such a young age.
Aston Villa have today unveiled Rhodes and Krejci as their new signings. Rhodes joins from Blackburn on a deal which will have a potential value of about £15 Million. Ladislav Krejci joins from Sparta Prague from £4.8 Million. Both signings are a signal that Paul Lambert is building for the future.
Aston Villa did miss out on signing Kevin Volland though, with the 20 year old striker rejecting the offer from the club, going as far as calling the offer insulting.
Lambert also indicated that he was still looking to bring in a few more players. When asked who his targets were, he was unwilling to give names, but he said that he was seeking at least one more midfielder.
