Aston Villa Reject Improved Offer From Liverpool for Barry

Aston Villa confirmed this morning that they have rejected an improved bid from Liverpool for the midfielder Gareth Barry. The latest offer from the Reds, their third, was reportedly worth close to £15m, but still fell some way short of the £20m valuation the Villa manager Martin O'Neill has put on his captain.

"The offer was a slight improvement on a previous bid but our position on the issue remains unchanged," said a Villa spokesman. "Liverpool have been informed."

O'Neill was incensed at the way in which Liverpool's initial interest in Barry was leaked to the press and though he is resigned to losing the player, he will do so only on his own terms. Whether those terms will eventually involve one or two Liverpool players moving to Villa in part-exchange remains to be seen, but O'Neill is believed to be interested in both Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun.