Journalist Ashley Preece has confirmed that Christian Purslow was at the Aston Villa training ground on Friday.
The Birmingham Mail reporter had been at Bodymoor Heath ahead of the Villans’ fixture in the Premier League this weekend.
Steven Gerrard’s side head into the game just three points above the relegation zone despite being unbeaten through their last four matches.
Three of those fixtures have ended in a tie, with the latest coming in a disappointing draw at Nottingham Forest in another uninspiring display from the West Midlanders.
And speaking on Friday’s edition of the Claret and Blue podcast, Preece noted the ‘interesting’ appearance of Purslow.
He said: “Christian Purslow at the training ground today as well. I seen him.
“He’s not usually at the training ground so Purslow was there today as well, checking up on matters, so that was pretty interesting.”
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What business the chief executive officer had at the training ground is unknown, but it is interesting as the pressure mounts on Gerrard that Purslow was making an appearance.
The former Liverpool captain has only won a third of his Premier League fixtures since taking charge at Villa, but what is more worrying in recent times is the team’s ability to score.
They have only managed to net twice in one of their nine games – and that came in the club’s first home game of the season.
Roy Keane criticised the attacking players in the team for their performance against Forest, and while Chelsea will be a difficult task, a result of some sort may be needed to keep the critics – and perhaps Purslow – off Gerrard’s back.