Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia has admitted that he is "heartbroken" over the cash crisis that has engulfed the club.

The Championship side faced a winding-up order from HMRC over unpaid taxes, but recently struck up a deal to pay off their debts of £4.2m.

Villa, however, still have an uphill battle to balance their books after failing to win promotion to the Premier League last season.

"It has been very difficult two weeks as I hinted earlier I was almost heartbroken by something," Xia wrote on Twitter. "Tried my best to keep my beloved Aston Villa moving forward.

"Thanks for all people standing together going through the difficult time. It was all supporters' encouraging words to keep me/us stronger."

Villa, who suspended chief executive Keith Wyness after he clashed with Xia over the club's finances, could be forced to offload key players including Jack Grealish to balance the books.