Aston Villa should aim higher than Crystal Palace’s James McArthur

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Championship hopefuls Aston Villa are reportedly interested in signing James McArthur from Premier League outfit Crystal Palace.

Considering that Aston Villa have only paid a transfer fee for one player in the last two transfer windows, the 34-year-old Glenn Whelan, you would not presume that the Midlands giants have one of the richest owners in the English game.

But Chinese businessman Tony Xia has no shortage of cash in the bank. The Birmingham Mail reported in December of last year that Xia is worth around £990 million – and invested £70 million of his own money to buy Villa from Randy Lerner in the summer of 2016.

Thanks to Financial Fair Play, however, Xia has been unable to spend big this season, unlike his first year at the helm where he splashed out around £70 million on new players and tried to make Abel Hernandez the most expensive footballer in Championship history with a £20 million bid, as reported by Sky Sports.

So if Villa are promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs, expect Xia to spend very big this summer with a return to the big time freeing up funds. Surely, then, Aston Villa can aim a little higher than the likes of James McArthur.

According to The Mail, the claret and blues want to sign the 30-year-old Scot from Crystal Palace and he won’t come cheap with two years left on his contract.

McArthur is proven in the Premier League having spent seven years in the top flight with Wigan and Palace but Xia has the funds to make bigger signings than a player who, for all his qualities, would be an astute if not ambitious addition.

With Midland rivals Wolves aiming for the stars, maybe Villa should too.