Xia in talks to buy other clubs as he looks to replicate Man City model
The soon-to-be chief executive of Aston Villa Football Club, Keith Wyness, has told reporters that the club’s new owner Tony Xia is in discussions to purchase football clubs across the globe as he looks to replicate the model of Manchester City’s Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
The duo set up the City Football Group, and have added MLS side New York City, Australian A-League side Melbourne City and Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos to their portfolio.
According to Wyness, Xia will be looking to follow a similar route as he looks to rebuild Aston Villa back into one of the biggest and best clubs in Europe.
As reported by the Express and Star, Wyness said that discussions with other clubs regarding possible takeovers are currently underway as Villa try to set up a model which will allow them to develop players in a more beneficial manner.
He said:
It’s similar [to Man City’s model]. The idea is to have a comprehensive pool of talent and abilities to take players up through different stages of club experience. Depending on their age, development, talent. Give yourself that opportunity to monitor the talent very closely wherever they are. It won’t be announced this week but we’re in active discussions, that’s all I can say. Every club has different factors but we have identified a number and we are in discussions.