Villa owner Xia rejects Marseille's reported massive offer for Amavi

Never far from all things contentious at the club, Aston Villa chairman and owner Tony Xia has publicly rejected a £25-million offer for left-back Jordan Amavi.

Xia took to Twitter on Tuesday for one of his trademark question-and-answer exchanges with Villa fans, and on the topic of a rumoured £8.5-million bid for the France Under-21 standout, the Recon Group CEO and owner dismissed speculation, saying he rebuffed a far more lucrative offer.

It is understood that the offer came from Frank McCourt's Marseille, with The Guardian's Ed Aarons reporting that Amavi is part of the American owner's attempts to revitalise a struggling Olympique outfit.

"Don't bother reading this," Xia wrote. "I can tell we have rejected an offer of £25M for @JordanAmavi He will grow bigger at @AVFCOfficial."

Amavi joined Villa last summer from Nice for a fee in the area of £9 million, and has a deal that expires in 2020.

The highly rated full-back has returned to the club's first-team setup in the Championship after recovering from a serious knee injury sustained last November while on international duty.

His form with Steve Bruce's lot has prompted talk of reported interest from Liverpool, Everton, and Marseille, though Xia contends that the 22-year-old is going nowhere despite the advances of Olympique sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta.

Not content to just speak on Amavi's future, Xia added that midfield flop Jordan Veretout, who is currently on loan at Saint-Etienne, would be free to leave the Birmingham club should he desire after an underwhelming maiden campaign with the Villans last season.

On the topic of reports in the Birmingham Mail linking Veretout with a move to five-time defending Italian champ Juventus, Xia offered: "Not crazy. We will accept this Jordan leaving as he didn't feel happy at Villa."

Football club owners speculating on club matters on Twitter: welcome to the modern game.