Lerner is chairman of credit card giants MBNA and took over the running of the Cleveland team following the death of his father in October 2002.

Ellis put Villa up for sale in October but the West Midlands club have received no concrete bids and the interest of a consortium which included Irish property developers the Comer brothers has fizzled out.

Life-long Villa fan Michael Neville was also part of that consortium and he indicated over the weekend he was confident of obtaining mystery backers to make a fresh bid.

But it is unclear at this juncture if those backers include Lerner – or whether the former Columbia Law School graduate is prepared to go it alone in his efforts to take control of Villa.

An unnamed Saudi Arabia-based consortium is also understood to be considering the possibility of attempting to buy into Villa, who are desperately in need of a massive cash injection.

Villa Shareholders’ Association chairman Jonathan Fear said: “We can’t obviously hang our hats on anyone interested in buying Villa until they come in and it is seen what they have to offer.

“But the fact there now appears to be interest in buying Aston Villa is excellent and it seems obvious the reign of Doug Ellis could be coming to an end.”

Lerner began his career as an investment analyst. In 1991, he started an independent investment firm with Progress capital called Securities Advisors Inc. (SAI) which he owned and managed until 2001.

In 1993 Lerner became a director of MBNA and became chairman nine years later. It was also following the death of his father that he became owner of the Cleveland Browns.

Lerner also spent 1983 at Clare College, Cambridge, England. He is a member of the New York State and District of Columbia Bars.

Martin O’Neill remains the fans’ favourite to succeed David O’Leary although the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann, Alan Curbishley and Sam Allardyce are also being linked with Villa.