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Dean Smith rubbishes claims Aston Villa could need to sell star players

Dean Smith rubbishes claims Aston Villa could need to sell star players
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The manager is focusing on incomings rather than outgoings.

Dean Smith has insisted Aston Villa do not need to sell players in January, claiming instead that they have a "healthy list" of targets.

A report this week suggested Villa need to cash in on some of their star men next year in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

However, Smith denied the club are under pressure to sell and has held talks with chief executive Christian Purslow about adding to his squad.

"We're looking at targets all the time," said the Villa boss. "I have regular meetings with Christian Purslow and Suso, the sporting director, and we've got a very healthy list of players who are possibilities.

"There may possibly be outs – I don't know. I'm not looking for any players to go at all and we're not under any pressure to sell, contrary to popular belief.

"We also haven't got any clauses in contracts that people can buy for a certain price. We've got two very wealthy owners who want to move this club forward, and to do that you keep your best players and add to that."

Villa host Southampton on Saturday looking for a first win in five league matches to climb away from the relegation zone and leave the visitors in it.

"We've come through a tough fixture list and now we're coming up against teams that are in and around us," added Smith at his pre-match press conference.

"I said to the players at the start of the season that Villa Park is massive for us, the results and the performances that we get there.

"Our supporters have been fantastic and with the exception of Leicester City, nobody has had an easy ride at Villa Park.

"If we win tomorrow, the world will look a different place.

"The table can look very different but it's up to us to perform and get the fans on our side and cheering for us because they've been our 12th man.

"Southampton have won a few games on the spin and that's taken them up to level on points with us before they lost the last couple of games.

"They've had a rollercoaster ride, much like ourselves."

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool18143145172845
2Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1911442619737
3Arsenal18106235161936
4Chelsea19105438231535
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle1995532211132
6Manchester CityMan City199463226631
7Bournemouth198652923630
8Fulham197842825329
9Aston Villa198562831-329
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton196942928127
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1973941281324
12Brentford187383232024
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham196582335-1223
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd196492126-522
15Crystal Palace194872027-720
16Everton183871524-917
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1944113142-1116
18Ipswich TownIpswich1936101833-1515
19Leicester CityLeicester1935112242-2014
20Southampton1913151239-276


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