Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has provided the club’s fans with a massive boost as he’s claimed that they are no longer under pressure to sell their biggest stars.
Villa suffered heartbreak last season after losing to Fulham in the Championship promotion playoff at Wembley, which cast major doubt over their future.
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As noted by ESPN, it was previously reported that the club had to raise £40m to adhere to Financial Fair Play regulations, and the obvious way to make up that shortfall was through player sales with influential figures such as Jack Grealish tipped to exit.
However, after the arrival of new ownership last week, Bruce has now revealed that the situation has changed and that the club will have a stronger stance on sales and will look to keep their best players at Villa Park for another season as they chase a return to the Premier League again.
“The one thing that the new owners have said it that no-body is for sale,” Bruce is quoted as saying by the Birmingham Mail, who do note though that a £25m+ bid from Tottenham for Grealish plus any indication from the player himself that he wants to leave, could yet result in an exit.
“That’s music to my ears. We don’t want to lose our best players. We will now be doing our utmost to make sure these things do not happen and not let them go anywhere.”
Time will tell if they all remain or not but given the seemingly precarious position that Villa were previously in without their new owners, it appears as though they are finally in a position to start planning for the new campaign with a positive frame of mind.
As for Grealish, it remains to be seen if a touted move to Spurs is of interest, as joining Mauricio Pochettino’s side would give him an opportunity to return to the Premier League immediately and develop his game under the Argentine tactician who has done wonders for other young English players such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli.