Rumoured takeover of Aston Villa has failed, Lerner still around

Earlier in the summer Randy Lerner entered into an exclusivity agreement with possible buyers of Aston Villa. Had things worked out as planned, it was possible that Villa would have had new owners before the new season even began. Adding to speculation of an imminent sale was the fact that Tim Sherwood was being given plenty of money to work with in his first summer in charge of the club. Many assumed that this meant there were assurances of money to come.

Well, the dream of new owners (at least for right now) is dead, according to Pete Colley of Sky news and Gregg Evans at the Birmingham Mail. The news was confirmed by Sherwood himself, who said "I think it's dead now to be honest. It was fairly live but I think the people who were talking are now not there."

We always knew that this was a possibility, but it closes the door on that immediate sense of hope stemming from new ownership. Nevertheless, it seems as if Lerner is actually planning on spending. If the deal is dead now, it's hard to imagine that it wasn't dead a few days ago when he okayed £9 million for Idrissa Gueye. Maybe (hopefully) the flow of cash continues, as Villa still have plenty of building to do.

We'll update as any more information becomes available.