EPL Side Aston Villa Set For Winter Spending Spree To Avoid Relegation

EPL side Aston Villa Manager Rémi Garde has been assured that he will "receive funds in the transfer window next month" after visiting the U.S. to meet club Owner Randy Lerner, according to Steve Madeley of the LONDON TIMES. Garde has been told that Villa "will not pull the plug on transfer spending" despite its battle to stay in the Premier League "looking increasingly hopeless." Aston Villa CEO Tom Fox, who accompanied Garde for his visit to N.Y. on Monday, insists that the club has "not given up" on its top-flight status. Fox: "It's up to Rémi. If he decides he needs something, he has the chairman's ear and his support, absolutely." Fox is "also insistent that Garde will have the final say on transfers," despite the increasing influence of Sporting Dir Hendrik Almstadt and Dir of Recruitment Paddy Reilly. Tim Sherwood, Garde's predecessor as manager, "is believed to have held concerns about the input from the club’s hierarchy over transfers" (LONDON TIMES, 12/17).