New Aston Villa owner considers rebranding Villa Park

The Chinese businessman, 39, this week bought Villa from Amercian Randy Lerner, who had been looking to sell since 2014.

As part of the drive to try to get Villa promoted back to the Barclays Premier League as soon as possible, Xia is considering changing the name of the Villa Park - the club's home since 1897 - possibly to incorporate his health food business.

He told the Beijing Times: "One of the things we have thought about is using the Lotus Health name to rebrand Villa Park

"Villa Park is a very historical stadium, so we will not simply and callously destroy a club's history

"We want to use Villa's history and its' substantial fan base around the world to also promote Lotus Health products and services globally.

"The ideal scenario would be for fans to enjoy Lotus Health products at Lotus Villa Park, it would be a great great advert for both brands."

Any such change to the name of Villa Park could run the risk of angering supporters and the report also claims that Xia will try to get fans on side by promising major investment in the transfer market

Meanwhile, following Xia's takeover Villa are expected to step up their attempts to persuade Roberto Di Matteo to become the club's new manager

Source : PA

Source: PA