Ellis eager for wealthy new Aston Villa owner

American businessman Lerner has stated that he is looking to sell Villa eight years after buying the Midlands club from Ellis.

Lerner has turned to Bank of America Merrill Lynch to find a buyer to advise him on the sale of the Villa Park outfit and Ellis believes that Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour is the type of person needed to take the club forward.

He told Sky Sports News: "Lerner has admitted he would like to sell, we are all waiting to see who it is to, and we have to find someone who has the money - someone equivalent to the Sheikh, who I met at Manchester City the other week.

"He is a delightful chap, is passionate beyond measure and has billions of pounds of money.

"He is a young lad who, I must admit, would be the ideal person, if in fact we found the right one for Aston Villa."

Ellis also leapt to the defence of Lerner, who became increasingly frustrated with criticism from Villa supporters frustrated with a lack of success.

He said: "He hasn't been bad for Aston Villa. In my view, he was the right one to choose at the time."