O'Neill plays down Petrov talk

Villa boss has no plans to part with skipper

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 31st July 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

O'Neill plays down Petrov talk

Petrov: Top performer

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Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has dismissed reports linking Stiliyan Petrov with Liverpool.

Speculation has suggested that Reds boss Roy Hodgson has identified the Bulgarian midfielder as a potential new recruit at Anfield.

The 31-year-old has been a virtual ever-present for Villa since joining from Celtic in 2006 and has not looked out of place among the Premier League elite.

An accomplished performer throughout his career, it is no surprise to hear that he is now attracting interest from the likes of Liverpool.

O'Neill admits as much, as he is full of praise for the work Petrov does at Villa, but insists he has no plans to part with his club captain.

He told Villa's official website: "There was a story that appeared in the newspapers that Liverpool were about to pounce and Stiliyan was going to be the player they would want to replace (Javier) Mascherano.

"Stiliyan has been absolutely fantastic for us in the last couple of years and - please don't take this as if I'm inviting offers, I'm not - but I'm not surprised that teams are interested in him.

Quality

"I haven't spoken to Paul (Faulkner) or Randy (Lerner) for a day or two, but there's nothing in the story and if you look at the source I wouldn't hold phenomenal store by it.

"But that doesn't mean that teams like Liverpool wouldn't be interested in him because he's a top quality player. But as we speak, no-one from Liverpool has contacted us."

Meanwhile, O'Neill has admitted that he is uncertain as to where Villa stand in their efforts to keep James Milner at the club.

Manchester City remain keen on the England international and talks regarding a possible agreement are ongoing.

O'Neill said: "I've left that with the chief executive and the owner and I'm sure that they'll fill me in with what might have developed.

"I think that there is some sort of dialogue going on and I think that you can see that Manchester City have made an offer which has not been accepted and it hasn't reached the valuation that Aston Villa are putting on James.

"Who knows what might happen in the foreseeable future? The answer is I'm not sure myself."

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