Jul 26

Aston Villa eager to get £30m from Manchester City for James Milner

• England midfielder prepares for Portugal tour with Villa
• Aston Villa and Manchester City reach impasse over fee

Aston Villa have reinforced their message that James Milner will leave only on their terms by naming the midfielder among the party who travel to Portugal on Wednesday. Milner held talks about his future with Martin O’Neill today and, although he will not feature in the friendly at Walsall tomorrow, his inclusion in the first-team squad for the trip to the Algarve has underlined Villa’s stance that nothing will change unless Manchester City meet their valuation.

With no indication that City are ready to pay the £30m asking price at the present time, O’Neill has effectively signalled that it is a case of business as usual at Villa by taking Milner with him to compete against Benfica and Feyenoord in the Guadiana Cup. The Villa manager’s decision mirrors how he handled Liverpool’s pursuit of Gareth Barry two years ago, when he fell out with the midfielder but later integrated him back into the team as the Merseyside club struggled to fund the deal.

Although City are clearly not operating with the same financial constraints that Liverpool were then, Milner’s proposed transfer has reached an impasse because of a £6m disparity in the two clubs’ valuations. It remains likely that common ground will be found but until that happens Villa are determined that Milner will continue to honour his contract and represent the club, whether that be in a pre-season friendly or the opening Premier League match against West Ham United.

That path ahead was mapped out in a meeting at Bodymoor Heath today, when Milner reported back for his first day of pre-season training after being given an extended break. The discussions provided Milner with an opportunity to express his disappointment that O’Neill had claimed he had “intimated” he wanted to leave the club this summer and that he was not interested in signing a new contract. Villa described the talks as amicable, although whether the air has truly been cleared remains to be seen.

Aston Villa’s statement said: “James Milner trained with the rest of the Villa squad today. He and the manager, along with chief executive Paul Faulkner and the player’s representative, Matthew Buck, had an amicable conversation and, while James will not play in the game at Walsall, he will fly with the squad to Portugal on Wednesday ahead of the Guadiana Cup in which Villa will compete with Benfica and Feyenoord this weekend.”

Aston VillaMartin O’NeillTransfer windowStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk

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Apr 20

Martin O’Neill vows to fight to keep James Milner at Aston Villa

• Manager says he will resist Manchester City’s interest
• ‘England player key to Villa’s future progress’

Martin O’Neill last night vowed to resist any bids for James Milner as Manchester City prepare to test Aston Villa’s resolve in the summer. The manager claimed that the club are under no pressure to sell any of their most valuable assets and believes that keeping Milner, who has been in outstanding form this season and is certain to go to the World Cup finals with England, is crucial if Villa are to continue to progress.

City’s interest in him has added to the growing uncertainty at Villa Park in the wake of O’Neill suggesting this month that he would consider his own position in the summer. Manchester United have also been monitoring the midfielder after being impressed by his progress this season. O’Neill, however, has no intention of allowing Milner to leave without a fight.

“It would be very, very important to keep him,” he said. “I don’t think it’s in the interest of Aston Villa football club to try and sell our players.

“I would like to keep players as long as possible; some others you have to let go. [But] that’s not the case with the players we have here. No one here has asked to leave the football club and the progress we have made here this season suggests that, not only themselves, but the club is going in the right direction.”

O’Neill was unable to keep Gareth Barry last summer, when a long-running transfer saga involving the former Villa captain ended with him joining Manchester City rather than Liverpool. The Villa manager believes, however, that the circumstances are very different with Milner. “Gareth Barry wanted to go for a year and a bit. Now, somewhere along the line, if a player wants to go, then you maybe have to decide that’s the time.

“He only had one year left on his contract and, to be fair to Gareth Barry, he had given his years here so I’m not knocking that. If anybody at the football club at the time had earned the right to say, ‘I wouldn’t mind going’ – I think Gareth Barry had done. [But] James Milner has not asked [to leave].

“We haven’t had the chance to sit down [with him to discuss a new contract]. I said I would leave it to the summer. Not just [with] James – but a host of people who have got two years left on their contracts.”

O’Neill claimed City have yet to make any contact with Villa regarding Milner but accepted that the absence of an official approach carries little significance in an era when transfer market rules have changed. “It used to be manager to manager years ago,” he said. “Wasn’t David Moyes’s annoyance with Mark Hughes [over Joleon Lescott's transfer from Everton to Manchester City] that he never had a call in that time?”

O’Neill also angrily dismissed a report that suggested he was going to quit the club at the end of the season and take a break from football. He stopped short of confirming he would still be the Villa manager at the start of next season, but he did claim that he deserves to be in charge. “You ask me a question about whether I will be here next season? The answer is I would really hope to be here,” said O’Neill. “I’d think I would have earned the right to be here.”

Villa, meanwhile, head to struggling Hull City tonight for a match they must win to keep alive their hopes of finishing fourth. “There is no room for error,” added the manager. “I still think that for us to have any chance at all we would have to win the last four matches. That’s asking a lot, but we’re going in with that mentality.”

Aston VillaMartin O’NeillManchester CityPremier LeagueStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk

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Apr 20

Martin O’Neill plays down talk of James Milner leaving Aston Villa

• Manager dismisses speculation midfielder may leave
• ‘We want the best players to stay’

Aston Villa’s manager Martin O’Neill has dismissed speculation linking the England midfielder James Milner with a £24m summer move to Manchester City. Milner, who has two years left on his Villa contract, has also been tipped as a target for Manchester United.

Villa, who paid £12m to sign Milner from Newcastle United two years ago, plan to open contract talks with him at the end of the season.

“It is irksome at this stage of the season,” said O’Neill. “It doesn’t do anyone any favours particularly because the player has had a fantastic time and is enjoying his football immensely here.

“He has had a really brilliant time, particularly since moving into the middle of midfield and I am delighted for him. James is still under contract with us and it’s a case of dampening fires that weren’t there in the first place.

“We want the best players to stay here at Aston Villa so we can keep the momentum going. But I have kind of accepted it now. If it is not James it will be Ashley Young and if it is not Ashley it might be Richard Dunne and then someone else the following week.”

O’Neill also denied he knew of any contact from City about the prospect of Milner moving to Eastlands in the summer. “It has got ridiculous now and I can categorically say that I have not heard anything from Manchester City,” he said. “I spoke to my chief executive late yesterday evening and he never mentioned it so I assume they have not been in touch with him either.

“You almost get the impression that stories are put in there to kind of upset you at this stage of the season. It was interesting to hear Arsène Wenger talking about Barcelona and having to rebuff stories about someone who was under contract at Arsenal. They are having to get Barcelona to make statements about them not coming after a player.”

Aston VillaMartin O’NeillManchester CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

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