Aston Villa: Steve Bruce resigned to losing star players this summer

Manager Steve Bruce, in one of the few instances of clarity emanating from the club since play-off final defeat, offered reality on the effects of Financial Fair Play.

Steve Bruce, entering his second summer as manager of Aston Villa Football Club, is resigned to the inevitability he will lose most of his best players.

To BirminghamLive, Bruce offered his take:

"“The first thing we have to address, before we go into anything, is Financial Fair Play,” Bruce told Sky Sports.. “That has to be addressed whether the owner has got any money or not. We have to try and put that in place as quickly as we can. “The owner has put out a statement. I had a conversation with him four or five days ago where I issued my commitment to the club and to him to say, ‘Look, we’re up against it, let’s be open and honest’. “We might have to take decisions which aren’t going to be easy. We will have to generate some money and inevitably that’s going to be through player sales………..(Grealish) “He’s a special talent. Yes, you don’t want to lose him but the inevitable thing is, we have to. “We have to to keep the club up and running and keep it in line with Financial Fair Play.”"

So the club in crisis, with no Chief Executive Officer or Director of Football, has a manager working blind with little contact to the owner. Five days – five days is unbelievable. With Bruce presumably taking the reigns as acting leader of football operations, it is inexcusable for Xia to not be in constant communication.

Not only that, but Villa might have to sell heavily just to comply with FFP. I mean, we knew this was probably the case going into the summer transfer window, but to hear it from the manager himself is a whole other scenario. Does it stop at Jack Grealish? Or are James Chester, Jonathan Kodjia, Scott Hogan, Conor Hourihane and Albert Adomah also expendable? Will a single transfer be brought it to supplement the squad?

Dark times indeed.