Crucial two days for Villa consortium

The Irish consortium bidding to take control of Aston Villa have indicated the next 48 hours are crucial to their hopes of succeeding.

Sources close to property developers the Comer Brothers and lifelong Villa fan Michael Neville are insisting the £64m (€93m) deal is “still alive”.

They have again insisted reports suggesting the takeover bid has collapsed are “not true” and that talks are continuing with Villa chairman and major shareholder Doug Ellis.

But Villa have still to receive a concrete offer from the consortium amid speculation they need to find another £10m (€14.6m) to meet Ellis’s asking price.

Ellis, who has indicated a willingness to sell after two decades in charge of Villa, is understood to have reached the stage where privately – if not publicly - his stance is “put up or shut up”.

A source close to the consortium insisted: “The deal is still alive. Reports that the bid is off are not true but the next 48 hours are crucial.”

A Villa spokesman said today: “We have not been informed of any change to the position. Our statement to the Stock Exchange still stands.”

In that statement before Christmas Villa confirmed they had received an initial approach and were in discussions as regards a possible takeover.

Ellis, 82, had told shareholders at October’s annual general meeting he hoped to have some concrete proposals to put before them within a month.

The consortium had set their stall out to complete a deal before Christmas but the slow nature of events means Villa manager David O’Leary is unlikely to receive funds in time to be able to move into the transfer market during the January window.