Bruce on brink of Villa exit

STEVE BRUCE is facing D-Day at Aston Villa. The manager will today hold crunch talks over his future with the club’s new owners. Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is ready to replace Bruce, below, having verbally agreed to take the job. Bruce, 57, is understood to have had no indication of any plans for a change at the top. But he will today get the answers he needs when the club’s new powerbrokers Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens fly in to meet him for the first time. A club source said: “He’s completely in the dark. He’s been just getting on with things because there has been no indication for him to do otherwise.” Bruce has been making plans for Villa’s preseason friendly with West Ham

tonight. But whether he will still be in charge to take his place in the dugout at Walsall remains to be seen.

Bruce is desperate to stay in charge after just missing out on going up, in the play-offs last term.

Henry has never managed a club but was Roberto Martinez’s right-hand man for Belgium, guiding them to the World Cup last four, where they lost to eventual winners France.

Henry has since announced he wants to go it alone as a manager and also gave up his lucrative pundit role with Sky.

Bruce signed a one-year rolling deal when he joined the club just under two years ago. A parting of the ways would cost Villa in the region of £1.5million.