Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia has rebuffed claims that the club are in the hunt for Stoke striker Peter Crouch this summer.
The Sun had claimed on Sunday that manager Steve Bruce was interested in bringing the former England forward to Villa Park as a second “big name” signing following their capture of John Terry on a free transfer.
However, just hours later, the club’s owner has shot down the claims on his own personal Twitter account, replying to a fan who questioned their ‘pursuit’ of Crouch and calling it “a rumor to fill the newspaper space”:
It's just a rumor to fill the newspaper space…
— Dr. Tony Xia (@Dr_TonyXia) July 9, 2017
A move for Crouch would have been a difficult one to pull off for the Villans, with the 42-time-capped England man currently on a reported £4million-a-year at the Premier League side, and said to be unwilling to take a pay cut.
He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances for the Potters last season, as he was used primarily as an impact substitute by manager Mark Hughes.
However, during a 10 match spell in the starting XI, he managed to score or contribute seven goals for his side, grabbing four goals and providing another three assists for his team mates.
Crouch is actually a former Villa player, having spent two years with the club between 2002 and 2004, scoring just six goals in 38 appearances.
At 36-years-old he is one of the most experienced strikers in the top flight, and has hit 101 Premier League goals in 430 appearances during his time at clubs like Liverpool, Portsmouth and Tottenham.