Set to spend another season in the Championship after failing to get promoted to the Premier League via the playoffs, Aston Villa could be in a lot of financial trouble if Tony Xia doesn’t find outside investment quickly.
With around £30m needed before the end of the month, there’s a possibility the Chinese owner will have to sell the club if he can’t find the money in time.
Player sales are expected at Villa Park, with hope the likes of Jack Grealish will bring in a fair chunk of money, but getting rid of fringe players will also be a priority to reduce the wage bill.
Among those could be Birkir Bjarnason, who only started 11 games under Steve Bruce last season, and who is of interest to Parma in Italy.
The newly-promoted Serie A side are looking to build a strong team to try and avoid going straight back down to Serie B, and among those on their list is the Iceland international.
The 30-year-old is a starter for his country, and is currently in Russia where he played the full 90 minutes in their heroic 1-1 draw against Argentina on Saturday.
There has yet to be a mention of price, but Bjarnason still has two years left on his Aston Villa deal.
It’ll be interesting to see how much the Championship side ask for if Parma actually do come knocking for the midfielder.
