Villa Target £5m Sidwell As Barry Replacement

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 play maker 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."

Xabi Alonso, whose place would be most at risk should Barry join Liverpool, has insisted he has no desire to leave despite being strongly linked with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus in recent months. That could change if Liverpool receive a tempting offer for the midfield play maker but, having spoken to Rafael Benítez about weekend reports in the Spanish press that he is on the verge of joining Madrid, Alonso is confident he has a role in the manager's long-term plans.

"I think I will be here next season even if Barry comes," said Alonso. "He would bring good competition and he would be more than welcome. He can play different positions and if he plays in midfield then I could play with him. I have no problem with that. I have been here four seasons already. Why not seven or eight?"

Liverpool are close to appointing their former coach, the former Bolton manager Sammy Lee, as Benítez's assistant. The chief executive, Rick Parry, has opened talks with Lee and the appointment could be confirmed this week.