Thierry Henry emerges as shock contender to become Aston Villa manager
Villa chief Tony Xia sold 55 per cent of the club to new investors, who could look to replace Steve Bruce
THIERRY HENRY is a shock contender for the Aston Villa job if Steve Bruce gets the axe.
The Arsenal legend quit his £4million-a-year role at Sky Sports earlier this week with the intention of entering management following his success as Belgium assistant boss at the World Cup.
It comes after the Championship club were last night saved from administration by an Egyptian consortium, headed up by billionaire Nassef Sawiris, who bought a majority share.
Bruce is preparing another push for the Prem with Villa after losing to Fulham in the play-off final last season, and would only have a a shoestring budget.
But he could be replaced before the start of the season if the new owners feel a fresh face is needed at the club.
Sawiris and American financier Wes Edens have answered Dr Tony Xia’s desperate SOS to rescue crisis-club Villa.
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Xia yesterday accepted a cut-price deal — worth less than £30million — to hand over a controlling stake in the club he paid £76m to buy from Randy Lerner in June 2016.
NSWE, a company formed by Sawiris and Edens, purchased 55 per cent of Xia’s shares, with a complete buy-out likely once the new investors satisfy the EFL’s Owners and Directors’ test.
Until then, Xia remains as a co-chairman with a 45 per cent stake in the club.
He tweeted: “Hope new partnership with Nassef and Wes we can continue our efforts to bring Villa to where it belongs
“Have to say we were even worse than Sunderland when we walked in.
“I don’t regret for what I have been trying, though I know we could do much better in many ways.”
Sawiris, 57, is the richest Egyptian in the world with a net wealth in excess of £5billion.
Edens, 56, is a private equity investor and co-owner of Milwaukee Bucks NBA team.
They commented: “We believe our business and sports experience will help strengthen the club.
“Our priority is to strengthen the squads and structures ahead of the new season and beyond.”