Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia admits player sales are needed.

Chinese owner Xia has confirmed he has no plans to sell the club and is seeking to flog a minority stake instead.

In the meantime he claims Bruce needs to sell players - with Tottenham poised to land Jack Grealish - to comply with Financial Fair Play.

Xia said: “Steve Bruce remains in charge with my support.

“His leadership will be important for us on the field, as a club and as a community and I thank him for his loyalty.

“To meet FFP we need to player trade.

“Given the financial realities, it would be prudent of us to be open and receptive to any potential minority strategic investment that would aid our objectives to consolidate after a tumultuous summer and ultimately achieve our ambition of returning to the Premier League."