Aston Villa takeover: Arsenal legend Tony Adams may make £150 million move

Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams is trying to get the financial backing needed to stage a £150 million takeover of Aston Villa according to Sky News' Mark Kleinman. The rumour is notable both for the person involved and the amount of detail provided by Kleinman. His report states that Adams has partnered with former Chelsea and IMG executive Paul Smith to create a company called Halo, the express purpose of which is to buy Aston Villa and invest in other football clubs.

According to Kleinman's report, the duo are seeking out investors to contribute £75 million while the rest of the purchase price would be made up of new debt possibly financed by Goldman Sachs. The big question that remains is whether or not Adams and Smith have actually obtained the money necessary for the move. The Halo company is also said to be interested in acquiring minority stakes in other football clubs including Sporting Lisbon and Internazionale.

Adams spent his entire senior career as a defender at Arsenal between 1983 and 2002. In 1988, when he was only 21, Adams became the club's captain and held that position until the end of his career. He also managed 66 caps with England and began a second career as a manager after his retirement, taking the helm of Wycombe Wanderers, Portsmouth, and the Azerbaijani team Gabala FK.

Of course, as with any other takeover rumours, you should probably be extremely skeptical until you hear anything else. Even if Kleinman's report is true (which, given the level of detail, I am willing to believe) he only says that this is essentially in the exploratory phase. Villa CEO Tom Fox said last week that there were no imminent plans for a takeover and that current owner Randy Lerner was actually quite happy with the club right now.

So while this is the most concrete rumour we've seen in months, it still behooves us to approach cautiously. Having Adams as an owner would certainly provide an interesting dynamic given his deep connection to Arsenal. But plenty of fans would be happy to see someone with such strong English ties taking over one of the country's oldest clubs. In a relative vacuum of information, what do you think? Are you excited by these rumours at all? Let us know in the comments!