Tony Xia posts Twitter reply to fan about Aston Villa January transfer plans
By Amir Mir
Tony Xia has confirmed on Twitter that Aston Villa have been working on plans to strengthen the squad when the transfer window re-opens next month.
Chinese businessman Xia also stated the “difficult” nature of the January window as Villa bid to earn instant promotion to the Premier League this season.
Promotion expert Steve Bruce has the task of guiding the Championship giants to the promised land and he has started off with four wins from his first eight games in charge.
Bruce did confirm in his Friday press conference ahead of the Wigan clash on Saturday afternoon that Villa have agreed one January deal and could tie the other up by Friday night.
When Xia was asked by a supporter what the plans were for next month, this was his response as posted on his own personal Twitter account.
Villa broke the Championship transfer fee on two occasions during the summer when they purchased Ross McCormack and Jonathan Kodjia.
Striker McCormack was purchased for £12 million from Fulham, while Villa paid Bristol City £11 million for Kodjia’s services, but that fee could rise to £15 million depending on performances.
Those signings were all under the stewardship of Roberto Di Matteo, who sacked by the club in October.
Now, they take on relegation threatened Wigan on Saturday afternoon at Villa Park, looking to maintain their unbeaten record on home soil.
Bruce suffered his first defeat as manager last time out when promotion chasing Leeds inflicted a 2-0 defeat on the Midlands club.
As a result Bruce’s side are six points off Sheffield Wednesday who occupy the final play-off spot.
In other Aston Villa transfer news, this is the player Steve Bruce should sign in January rather than Gareth Barry.