O'Leary wants Bakke to stay

Aston Villa boss David O'Leary is hoping to keep Eirik Bakke until the end of the season.

Aston Villa manager David O'Leary is hoping to get Eirik Bakke's loan deal extended until the end of the season so he can play in the FA Cup.

The midfielder is due to return to Leeds at the end of this month and the Championship outfit don't want him to be cup tied in case another team wants to buy the player.

However, O'Leary is desperate to have the Norway international available for the third round tie against Hull this Saturday.

The Villa chief is facing a race against time to get a deal wrapped up before the weekend that would mean Bakke staying at the Midlands club until the conclusion of the current campaign.

"I want him to stay for the rest of the season," O'Leary told the club's website. "As things are currently, he has a loan up to the end of January.

"At present, he is not eligible for the FA Cup because we currently have no deal to take his loan on until the end of the season.

"We could do with sorting that out because we badly need him for Saturday. We need to know before 12 noon on Friday."