"?Dr Tony Xia's takeover of Aston Villa from Randy Lerner is now fully complete after the already agreed upon deal was given formal approval by the Football League. It means that after several weeks of promising chatter, the Chinese business tycoon can begin work at Villa Park for real.
A statement from the club read:
"Aston Villa is delighted to confirm the sale of the Club to Recon Group, owned by Dr Tony Xia.
"The completion of 100 per cent ownership from Randy Lerner has been rubber-stamped by the Football League.
#AVFC delighted to confirm the sale of the Club to Recon Group, owned by Dr Tony Xia. Story: https://t.co/NEfzXv2muM pic.twitter.com/gtpBEwHzGd
"Dr Xia has been informed he passed the owners and directors test and following the completion of paperwork today is now the club's new owner and chairman.
"A new board will be appointed later this week."
Villa recently appointed Roberto Di Matteo to lead the club in their first season outside the top flight flight since the late 1980s. The former Chelsea boss has been joined by Steve Clarke on the coaching staff as Xia looks to take the Championship by storm.
As much as £50m has been promised in terms of transfer budget to ensure Villa's stay in the second tier is a brief one. After that, the ambitious Xia has a top six place and a return to European football firmly in his sights.
Speaking in May shortly after his takeover was initially confirmed, the new owner explained, "My ambition is to bring Villa to the top six in less than five years and I hope it can be top three in the world - even the best well known in the world - in less than 10 years."
Referring to his incredible success in the world of business, Xia added, "Nobody believed in the beginning but I made it happen no matter how many years it took."
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