Current owner Randy Lerner had granted a consortium a period of exclusivity earlier this year to table a bid for the club, but with that period now over, no official bid has been made.

And speaking to Sky Sports, Sherwood confirmed the deal now appears to be 'dead'.

 

"It was fairly live, but I think the people who were talking are now not there." he said.

"The chairman is picking it up and running with it now. I'm not sure if anyone is too close now. Until it's done it's never there."

Lerner put the club up for sale in May, having taken control of the club in 2006.

Under manager Martin O'Neill he invested heavily in the first team squad, with Villa competing for European football for several years.

Since O'Neill's departure however the club have found themselves being drawn further down the table, with relegation a very real threat when Sherwood took over from the sacked Paul Lambert last season.

He managed to keep them up however, and led them to an FA Cup final, though they were heavily beaten 4-0 by Arsenal.