Aston Villa came close to being sold to an unknown Swiss investor over the summer with Ben Marlow from the financial sector in the Daily Telegraph reporting that talks broke down at the last minute between a fund called IM 1872 and Randy Lerner, due to the main backer pulling out.

The firm behind the deal are one of the main backers of the German side, Hertha Berlin and Marlow reports that the group are looking for new investors to relaunch a takeover for the Midlands side. He also mentions that they are also looking for other Premier League sides.

It is believed that the previous two backers were based in Hong Kong from Barings Bank, but a vote from board members in China led to the deal breaking down with members believing it was too high risk.

The offer for Villa was reportedly lower than Randy Lerner’s valuation of between £150-million and £200-million.