Villa move for Holland

Ipswich Town FC have agreed to sell their captain and Republic of Ireland international midfield player Matt Holland to Aston Villa FC.

Reluctant sellers
Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks said in a statement: "We have today most reluctantly agreed an undisclosed fee with Aston Villa for Matt Holland. The player is in Finland on international duty and has been informed by [manager] George Burley this morning." The fee is believed to be around €7m.

Financial constraints
Sheepshanks said the sale was due to the financial constraints placed on the Suffolk club since their relegation from the English Premiership last season. They have already had to sell young defender Titus Bramble to Newcastle United FC. Despite that relegation, Ipswich entered this season's UEFA Cup via UEFA's Fair Play rankings and beat Luxembourg's FC Avenir Beggen 1-0 in the first leg of the qualifying round last week.

'Painful decision'
"As agonising and painful as this decision has been for the directors, George Burley and myself this sale was a necessity and it helps to stabilise our financial position," added Sheepshanks. "The stark facts are that our television income last year amounted to over £20m [€31.3m]. This year in the Football League it is unlikely to amount to more than £750,000 [€1.2m]. We receive a parachute [payment] of approximately £5m [€7.8m], which bridges only a quarter of the shortfall."
 
Personal terms not agreed 
Holland, who was with the Republic of Ireland preparing for tonight's friendly against the Finns, said on his website: "Unfortunately, although I know the club does not want to sell me, the reality of the balance sheet is that money needs to be raised." The 28-year-old, who now needs to agree personal terms with Villa, said he would "properly examine" the situation on his return on Thursday but Villa manager Graham Taylor has made no secret of his desire to sign a midfield player before the 31 August transfer deadline.