Neville’s bid for Villa gets boost

LIFE-LONG fan Michael Neville’s hopes of his consortium taking control of Aston Villa have been boosted by the apparent withdrawal from the bidding of American billionaire Rady Lerner.

Lerner is believed to have pulled out of the battle to buy out major shareholder and Villa chairman Doug Ellis after holding lengthy talks with the 82-year-old this evening.

It is unclear what was the reason for Lerner deciding to end his interest more than a fortnight after initially meeting Ellis who put the club up for sale nine months ago.