Aston Villa owner Tony Xia has commented on the situation of Rangers target Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.
Aston Villa owner Tony Xia has taken to Twitter to claim that the club are waiting for Rushian Hepburn-Murphy to sign a new contract before giving him first-team football.
Hepburn-Murphy, 18, was born in Birmingham and joined the Villa setup at the age of just nine, and made history in March 2015, becoming the youngest player to play a Premier League game for Villa after coming on as a substitute against Sunderland.
General view of Villa Park
The teenage attacker has yet to establish himself as a first-team regular at Villa Park though, but does have eight caps for the England youth teams to his name as he looks to have a bright future.
Unfortunately for Villa, recent speculation has suggested that his future may not lie at Villa Park, with the Daily Mail recently claiming that Rangers are looking to snap up Hepburn-Murphy on a pre-contract agreement in January.
Picture Supplied by Action Images – Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia
Hepburn-Murphy’s deal with Villa ends next summer, and with Rangers able to take advantage of cross-border contract regulations, they would be able to sign him for a nominal compensation fee – something Villa will want to avoid given his huge potential.
The Birmingham Mail reported earlier this week that Villa have offered Hepburn-Murphy a new deal to fend off interest, but are waiting to hear back from him on his decision, with the signs pointing to him signing a new deal.
Fans have been taking to Twitter to ask owner Tony Xia about Hepburn-Murphy, and particularly quizzed him about just why the youngster isn’t being given a first-team opportunity.
Xia responded by saying that Villa are waiting for him to sign a new contract and to ‘show his determination’ to play for Villa before giving him more first-team opportunities.
Even when Hepburn-Murphy signs a new deal, he will be competing with the likes of Jonathan Kodjia, Jordan Ayew, Rudy Gestede and Gabriel Agbonlahor for a first-team place, meaning he faces a real battle to play regularly.
Would you like to see Hepburn-Murphy given a chance in the Villa side?
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