Bruce seeks urgent talks
BOSS FEARS FOR FUTURE
STEVE BRUCE wants talks about his future, with Aston Villa facing financial meltdown.
The Villa boss wants to speak to owner Dr Tony Xia after the club suspended chief executive Keith Wyness, one of his allies.
Wyness was suspended following a row with Xia over Villa’s finances, including an unpaid £4.2m tax bill.
Bruce has not heard from the club since his side’s Championship play-off final defeat to Fulham two weeks ago.
He is keen to stay in charge despite a likely fire sale of Villa’s best players this summer to help solve the financial crisis but is worried by lack of information about budgets and his own position.
Xia last week warned of big cutbacks but failed to give Bruce any guarantees about his future.
The businessman has been unable to bankroll the club for the last two months because of Chinese government rules limiting cash leaving the country.
He has paid the first £500,000 to the taxman and hopes to secure a bank loan to pay the rest and stave off a winding-up petition. But Villa need at least £40m of cuts just to avoid breaking Financial Fair Play rules.
Xia has not ruled out selling the club but would prefer to stay in charge, although he is struggling to find a buyer willing to match his £100m valuation.