Chinese owner may have to sell club to avoid financial disaster

JEDINAK £50k a week 1 year to go LANSBURY £40k a week 3 years to go MCCORMACK £40k a week 2 years to go KODJIA £35k a week 2 years to go CHESTER £30k a week 2 years to go ..and they’re even paying rookie full-back JAMES BREE £23k a week for the next 3 yea

ASTON VILLA’S complacency about promotion has left them with a staggering wage bill as the club stares into a financial abyss.

Championship Villa are in the grip of a serious cash crisis after missing out on the Premier League in the play-off final.

Chinese owner Dr Tony Xia has suspended CEO Keith Wyness after a row over fresh external investment.

The club have been given a week to settle a £4.2million unpaid tax bill by HMRC after missing a payment last Friday.

Yet, even if Villa, who have been borrowing money this year and selling off future transfer revenue, find more short-term funds to pay, they still have huge liabilities.

Big-earning stars, signed by Xia following his takeover in 2016 after relegation, have no contract clauses to reduce their wages with Villa failing to go up.

Mirror Sport understands Mile Jedinak still has one year left on his £50,000-aweek deal after joining from Crystal Palace.

Midfielder Henri Lansbury is on £40,000 a week and has three years left. Striker Ross Mccormack earns £40,000 a week and has two years left.

Ivory Coast international Jonathan Kodjia is on £35,000 a week with two years left. James Chester earns £30,000 a week and has two years left. Even rookie full-back James Bree, 20, is on £23,000 a week with three years left.

It is believed the club is now losing £6m a month due to a series of draining contracts, despite cuts to a wage bill last recorded at £61m in 2016/2017.

It will increase the pressure on £300,000-a-year director of football Steve Round, appointed in September 2016, after previously being a coach at Newcastle, Everton and Manchester United. Xia, who blames Financial Fair Play regulations for his cutbacks, has vowed to personally tackle the crisis. But Football League clubs meeting in Portugal at their annual meeting are in the mood to clamp down on clubs who flout FFP.

There is no way back for Wyness (bottom left) with Xia (top left) feeling betrayed that he went looking for serious investment from the USA without permission.

But selling the club could be the only way out for the Chinese tycoon – or face administration.

It opens the door for US sports investor Peter B Freund, a minority shareholder in baseball’s New York Yankees, who has been linked with a £75m takeover.

In the short term, stars like Jack Grealish are likely to be sold, with Leicester keen on the midfield ace.

TV deal, at the end of which Villa were relegated – before launching a highstakes gamble to return last term. Their dramatic fall from the financial security of the Premier League is illustrated by the fact that not a single club in the top flight...