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Aston Villa exodus: Two senior first-team players face axe as Bruce looks to raise cash - report
By Danny Wright
Jordan Amavi and Tommy Elphick are two of five players who will be axed by Aston Villa in a mass summer exodus, according to a report.
The Telegraph claims that they will be sold alongside Carles Gil, Jordan Veretout and Aaron Tshibola, as Steve Bruce looks to free up funds to sign five new faces.
It is understood that Bruce has been handed a meagre £1million transfer budget for the summer and will have to sell players in order to buy more.
Villa are reportedly close to breaching the EFL’s Financial Fair Play regulations having lost £81.3million in the last three years, which is just shy of the £83million limit.
Carlos Sanchez has already sealed a £2.5million switch to Serie A club Fiorentina, which could boost Bruce’s budget.
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According to the Mirror, the West Midlands club have already sealed a deal for goalkeeper Sam Johnstone after Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho sanctioned a deal.
Aston Villa are likely to make use of the loan system in order to sign new players though due to the lack of funds that Bruce has available.
Despite the financial worries, it is understood that owner Dr Tony Xia is still fully committed to the club after splurging £70million on revamping the squad this season.
Football Insider Verdict
Amavi arrived at Villa Park with a lot of promise and began his career there very well. However a serious injury appears to have had a massive impact on the Frenchman’s progression and the second half of this season has shown that Neil Taylor is a much better option at left-back. Elphick has also been poor since his arrival at the Birmingham-based club and it’s not really a huge shock that he will be shifted on. James Chester and Nathan Baker have forged a strong partnership in the centre of defence and Elphick has proved he cannot even be seen as a good back-up option for either of them.
In other Aston Villa news, a defender has announced his Villa Park exit.
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