According to reports from the Birmingham Mail via the Times, Aston Villa could face a 12-point deduction next season if they are found in breach of financial rules.

The report from the Times states that -  "Villa have posted an aggregate loss of £37.1 million during their two seasons in the second tier, giving them very little room to comply with rules that permit losses of £39 million over a three-year period before submitting their next results to the EFL in March".

The reduction in Villa's parachute payments this season from £33 million to £15 million could also hinder Villa's cause, because if the breach is more than £15 million over three years then under new EFL guidelines Villa could face a 12 point deduction in the 2019-20 season.

Villa have endured a torrid time of late, with Steve Bruce coming under major criticism by a large majority of Villa fans, with the club lingering in 13th place in the Championship table.

Here, we discuss the latest news to emerge from Villa Park...

Gary Hutchinson

There's a real chance of this happening and if it does, it will be huge - Villa have played with fire too many times and without a miracle, their March numbers are going to make nasty reading.

There's only one way they'll pull it around; knock out Jack Grealish for £25m in the summer.

Jay Taylor

This could be terrible for Aston Villa's hopes next season, and it could even signal the end of Steve Bruce, with the points deduction the scapegoat for his dismissal.

Just when the club looked to be back on track, this news comes out to potentially drag the club back one step after two forward.

If it becomes official, then this would be a massive blow.

George Harbey

This could be detrimental for Villa, who seem to be taking too many risks at the minute.

With talk of Grealish signing a new deal and the club still wanting to sign a free-agent centre-half, maybe the club needs to take a real step back to avoid this tough situation.