Aston Villa have filled a void among their senior staff with the arrival of new chief commercial officer Nicola Ibbetson from Premier League giants Chelsea, according to Birmingham Live.
The newspaper claim on their website that executive officer Christian Purslow has secured a reunion with the highly-rated Ibbetson after working together behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge as she leaves London following her three years at the Blues, having also worked for Manchester United.
It is stated that she arrives to plug the gap left by the axed Luke Organ, who was shipped out of Villa Park last month in a shake up of senior staff at the club.
Opinion
Purslow seems to be as focused on improving the quality of individuals off the pitch at Villa Park as he is on signing new talents for the senior squad. The arrival of Ibbetson is obviously an ambitious one, convincing her to leave a colossus of English football for what one might call a sleeping giant and she is evidently well trusted by the Villa chief, having spent time working alongside one another at Chelsea during their time there. Will it make too much of a difference in the supporters’ eyes? There will not be any obvious change and the evidence of her work will not be clear cut but with a focus on improving the club’s financial income and with a proven record of getting big deals done – playing a key role in Manchester United’s record breaking kit sponsorship deal with Adidas – she should be able to bring in extra revenue to get the club pushing forward both on and off the pitch.