Daily Express: Aston Villa are the latest club to be linked to a move for Blackburn winger David Bentley.

Daily Mail: Aston Villa are hopeful of signing free-agent Stephen Carr who was released by Newcastle last week.

Sun: ASTON VILLA boss Martin O'Neill is ready to get tough with Liverpool over Gareth Barry. O'Neill and club owner Randy Lerner have already spoken to their skipper about his future after the Reds tabled a rejected £10million player-plus-cash bid. That angered O'Neill who snapped: "Liverpool have put in an offer ? well it's debatable whether it is an offer!" England midfielder Barry, 27, who has two years left on his current deal, has promised an answer within a fortnight.

Times: Aston Villa have begun discussions with Gareth Barry in the hope of persuading the England midfielder to stay at the club. Martin O'Neill, the club's manager, has become embroiled in a bitter war of words with Rafael Benitez over the possible move after Liverpool submitted a £10 million bid for the player. The Liverpool manager remains hopeful of tempting Barry to leave Villa Park with the offer of Champions League football but O'Neill remains confident he and Randy Lerner, the owner, can impress him enough to make him stay. "We've spoken to Gareth and our situation remains the same - that everyone at Aston Villa Football Club wishes very strongly that Gareth will stay," O'Neill said. "He still has two years of his contract to run and Liverpool have put in an offer that, well, it's almost debatable whether it is an offer. "Things are very much up in the air and the main aim for the chairman and myself is to try and keep him at the football club. That's what we're trying to do. You can make people see out their contracts but in essence we would want a pretty amicable solution to all of this and we're still hopeful that things can be resolved in favour of Aston Villa."

Guardian: Martin O'Neill is understood to have identified the Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell as a potential replacement for Gareth Barry. The Aston Villa manager has refused to concede defeat in his attempts to persuade Barry to resist Liverpool's overtures, but with that task appearing increasingly forlorn O'Neill is poised to rekindle the interest he showed in signing Sidwell last summer, when he missed out on the 25-year-old after Chelsea flexed their financial muscles. Sidwell, who has started only 13 matches for Chelsea this season after joining on a free transfer from Reading 12 months ago, will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge for around £5m this summer as the Premier League runners-up seek to move on fringe players. The asking price is well within Villa's reach although personal terms could be more problematic, with Sidwell's basic salary at Chelsea believed to be around £65,000 a week. Villa can also expect competition from other Premier League clubs, including Everton, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle. O'Neill, however, will hope to convince Sidwell that he would be joining a team which has made considerable progress in the last two years - Villa have gone from finishing 16th to 11th to sixth - and one with a strong English backbone. Furthermore, there is the possibility of European football next season if Villa progress in the Intertoto Cup. Werder Bremen's Brazilian playmaker Diego and the Germany international Bernd Schneider are also believed to have come to O'Neill's attention as he seeks to strengthen central midfield, an area in which Nigel Reo-Coker and Stilian Petrov have failed to convince. Those shortcomings would be further exposed should Barry leave although O'Neill, despite Liverpool's pursuit, believes he can talk the England international into staying. "Of course anything can change at the drop of a hat and I'm never overly confident but what I would say to the fans is that we're doing our utmost and we'll continue to do so," said the Aston Villa manager. "We want to show Gareth that we mean business. I think Gareth sees the club progressing - he sees that every day. He sees how he is valued at the club. That's something that is important."

Times: O'Neill, who has been irked by Benítez's approach to transfer negotiations, maintains that Barry will be staying at Villa Park. "We've spoken to Gareth and everyone wishes very strongly that he will stay," the Villa manager said. "The main aim for the chairman and me is to try and keep Gareth at the club."

Sky Sports: Aston Villa have opened talks with Gareth Barry in a bid to convince the midfielder to stay at the club. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is keen to sign £10million-rated Barry as he bids to bolster his midfield for a shot at the Premier League title next season. Barry, 27, is also understood to be eager to play UEFA Champions League football and is thought to be considering a move away from Villa Park. But Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who has been angered by Benitez's 'debatable' offer for the England international, has now confirmed that he and chairman Randy Lerner have held talks with their club captain. "We've spoken to Gareth and our situation remains the same - that everyone at Aston Villa wishes very strongly that Gareth will stay," O'Neill told Villa's official website.

Coverage From Abroad

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