ROUND’S OUT OF VILLA

ASTON VILLA’S director of football Steve Round has quit after embattled Chinese owner Dr Tony Xia refused to sell up.

Xia (right) stunned Villa officials by declining to sell to an interested group of Americans, brought to the table by Round.

Xia is under huge pressure back home in

China to get a return on the £60million he paid for the club in 2016 as an investment.

But he rebuffed the US interest – despite Championship Villa being in the grip of a grave cash crisis following their play-off final defeat. It left £300,000-a-year director Round facing major cutbacks and player sales to keep Villa going under Xia. He decided to walk away instead.