Aston Villa chairman may be in China to finalize club takeover deal

According to a report in the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa chairman Steve Hollis is in China trying to finalize the sale of the club. The news comes on the heels of weeks of renewed speculation about Randy Lerner's attempts to offload the club he purchased almost exactly a decade ago.

If the Mail is to be believed, the sale would go through for £100 million, which is a steep drop from Lerner's original asking price of more than £200 million. That said, conflicting reports from the BBC earlier today said that a sale could be finished by the end of the week for £60 million.

Whichever number you believe, it seems to be increasingly likely that a deal actually will be finalized this time. The team has been up for sale for two years, and while several previous attempts have come close to succeeding, none have ever gotten quite as far as this latest round seems to have gotten.

It is thought that a new manager will not be revealed for the club until a sale is complete.

We will keep you abreast of any further developments.