Sources: Aston Villa transfer guru in advanced talks to quit after less than a year
Aston Villa transfer guru Rob Mackenze is in advanced talks to quit and join Bristol City, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
McKenzie only arrived at Villa Park last summer as part of a major revamp of the club's recruitment team.
He joined as head of recruitment to work alongside the then newly-appointed sporting director Johan Lange.
But a Villa source has told Football Insider that Mackenzie is closing in on a shock move to Championship club Bristol City.
He is set to be reunited with City manager Nigel Pearson, who he knows from his time at Leicester City and Belgian club OH Leuven.
On the face of it, the move will come as a surprise to Villa supporters given the timing and the fact that City ended the Championship season in 19th position.
By contrast, the Midlands giants are gearing up for what Football Insider revealed last month is expected to be another summer of major spending.
They have already identified a number of leading targets who this site revealed to include the likes of Tammy Abraham, Dwight McNeil and Axel Tuanzebe.
The Villa recruitment department is headed by Lange, the sporting director who was appointed last July.
He succeeded Jesus Garcia Pitarch, who had been sacked two days before.
The Spaniard, known as Suso, paid the price for overseeing huge spending in the summer of 2019 and January 2020, only for the club to narrowly avoid relegation in their first campaign back in the top flight.