Villa make agreement with HMRC over tax bill

Aston Villa have reached an agreement with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over a £4million tax bill.

The agreement will allow the Sky Bet Championship club, who missed out on a Premier League return after losing to Fulham in the play-off final at Wembley, to continue dayto-day operations.

Villa have also announced that there are “no insolvency practitioners or administration advisors working with the club”.

A statement from the club added: “Owner and chairman Dr Tony Xia would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank supporters during this difficult and unsettling time and reassure them plans are now being put in place to move the club forward.”

Earlier, Xia wrote on his personal Twitter account: “It has been very difficult 2 weeks as I hinted earlier I was almost heartbroken by something. Tried my best to keep beloved AV move forward. Thanks for all ppl standing together going through the difficult time. It was all supporters’ encouraging words to keep me/us stronger.”

Jack Grealish is Villa’s best option of raising a quick lump sum of cash as they look for £40million to comply with Financial Fair Play rules.

And it is understood Villa will hold firm on their £30m valuation for the England Under-21 international.

West Ham, Manchester United and Leicester have been linked with the 22-year-old, although he is unlikely to move to the Foxes.

James Chester has also been linked with a move while fellow defender John Terry will leave on a free and full-back Alan Hutton is expected to depart when his contract expires at the end of the month as the club cuts costs.

A week after the defeat to Fulham Villa missed a tax payment but have now paid £500,000 and are expected to shell out a further £1.2m by the end of the week.

The outstanding amount is then likely to be sent swiftly, ensuring administration is not an immediate threat.