Aston Villa, the English soccer club that has finished sixth in the Premier League for the last two seasons, is expected to sign a £30 million shirt sponsorship deal for the next five years.

The deal, worth an initial £5 million per year and rising, will see the end of the agreement that sees the name of Acorns, the children's hospice, adorning the front of the club's shirts.

However, the club has insisted that Acorns will continue to benefit from the enw deal, with any new sponsor expected to be asked to make a consistent commitment to the hospice as part of the partnership.

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"We have made it clear that any new commercial partnership would still work very closely with Acorns as well, and that would be a cast-iron part of an agreement," said a spokesman for the club to the Daily Mirror newspaper. "The club are very proud of the work that has been done so far and believe everybody will benefit from making sure it continues."