Coventry in talks to sign Aston Villa's Joe Cole on a permanent deal

Coventry City are in advanced talks with Aston Villa to sign Joe Cole on a permanent deal, according to Sky sources.

The former England international joined the League One side in October and has been helping with their bid for promotion to the Championship.

Cole's deal with Villa expires in the summer and the 34-year-old is believed to be keen to remain at the Ricoh Arena, with it clear he is not part of Remi Garde's first-team plans at Villa Park.

Coventry boss Tony Mowbray admitted Cole would have to take a substantial wage cut to stay with the Sky Blues but he is hopeful of coming to an agreement.

"I think the player will help us but there's a number of discussions to be had, not just with our football club and the clubs concerned," Mowbray said.

"There's no way we could pay similar sorts of salary levels so they'll have discussions with their parent clubs and after that, we need to have discussions with their advisors. So there's lots of stuff to be talked about."