Aston Villa are closing in on the appointment of Francesco Calvo as their new president of business operations, replacing Chris Heck, who will depart at the end of the month.

Calvo is set to join from Juventus, where he has served as managing director of revenue and football management since 2022. His primary goal at Villa will be to grow commercial income as the club aims to stay competitive with the Premier League and Europe’s elite.

Villa’s Champions League quarter-final run has brought in around £100m, but the club still trails behind the Premier League’s traditional Big Six in revenue.

Calvo previously served as Juventus’ commercial director and later chief revenue officer, before taking on similar roles at Barcelona and Roma—where he worked closely with current Villa football operations president Monchi.

He will now oversee Villa’s commercial and marketing departments. Heck, who held the position for two years, saw a significant rise in revenue under his leadership but faced criticism from fans over ticket pricing and poor communication.