Aston Villa could face an exodus of first-team talent if they fail to get promoted this season, according to the Daily Star.
Dean Smith’s side have put together a magnificent run of 10 straight league wins to catapult themselves into the promotion places, but could lose a flurry of key players if they can’t make a return to the Premier League.
According to the report, star man Jack Grealish will almost certainly go, while loan stars Tammy Abraham and Tyrone Mings will go and not come back should the Villans miss out on the financial boost of a top flight spot.
John McGinn is also touted as a potential summer exit, with his impressive form catching the eye of several top level teams.
OPINION
This is always the risk for a club like Villa. When you put as much into a promotion campaign as they have over the past couple of seasons, you know that anything less than going up will cause you problems. We saw it at the start of this season, when the rigours of an unsuccessful play-off bid left the side languishing under Steve Bruce, and Dean Smith, despite his impressive form over the last few weeks, won’t be exempt from the same kind of issues should his side be unsuccessful in their attempts. Losing the quartet of stars named in the report would rip the heart out of his team. Yes, Abraham and Mings were expected to go anyway, but there will be faint hopes of bringing in both on permanent deals should the Villans make it back to the top flight. If they stay in the second tier, however, you can kiss that goodbye, and almost certainly expect Grealish and McGinn to go too.