This would be nice...Are we assuming that DLR's comments about staying were just window dressing then?

What sort of chance of this coming off do you (or your source) give this? Any reaction from DLR or Real?

So what is the latest then Damian? Are there any further developments? How much was the bid? Just asking before everyone else does!! Thanks for the inside tip by the way, its great to have a bit of excitement again.....also any word on the Hammer bid from yesterday?

sign him up! and send Gareth on his way!

I had it in my head that it would be Joaquin. But this is hardly exclusive news considering it was in the Spanish press a week or so ago that we had bid. Fingers crossed it comes off!

Yes!!!! Damo is the man!!!!!

has anyone got the stats on his career from early days 2 now

i'll know more later tonight

not everythign you will read tomorrow, probably sunday is true. o'neill and lerner want this player and they are ready to do wahtever it takes ... from what i'm getting told, maybe it tunrs out that villa are about to splash the cash and the general might have been right

i'll clearly be eating humble cake if they do this and the next one that is getting talked about

hardly an exclusive, and not new news, so barely a mystery man at all.

Ok, forget my previous post.......I think i may have caught you mid post there as i just had the title displaying on my screen. I will still ask though if you know anything further about the Ashton and Ferdinand bid...Also Damian, how do you think that the GB situation will be played out? Do you think that it is 100% that he is going?

this is all good but didnt he tell the spanish hed b more than happy 2 stay at real madrid and i love vila 2 dead but wouldnt a player rather stay at mardir if he comes that will b an amazing fingers crossed

im geting excited now i realy hope your right going to get a clip of him now of youtube.. you just made my day haha..
going out now with a smile on my face ;D

next one, what you on about ay
theres more players
youve gotta tell us
its just teasingggg

Bring it on, about time we had some glamour again.

There has been an unreal amount of speculation about this boy coming to Villa in the last two weeks. I even remember reading this player has come out and stated he wasn't leaving Real.
To be honest, I dont know much about this player, id never heard about him till this speculation came up. I doubt this deal will happen but if it does and people are right about how good he is, good stuff Villa!!

Jon Law - As you seem to be in the know why dont you come forward and tell us the next target then?

wow i honestly was expecting this i thought this was way too obvious.i know we have been linked with him but ive never really seen him play is he any good if so how good

have we ever signed or sold any one from/to real madrid before?

would have loved joaquin but de la red will be a good player to have onboard, just hope its not much more than 12-15 million. does he play CM? so hopefully we will still get a right winger as well and who will make way? do we have too many central midfielders now. osbourne, salifou, gardner, Sidwell, NRC, petrov, and barry hopefully. along with young and routledge on the wings.

"I'll clearly be eating humble cake if they do this and the next one that is getting talked about."

What is the next one that is getting talked about?

really good lol called up for the spanish national team so cant b bad

Typed this once but not on blog does anybody know any stats about him from early days to present.

Damian great news he will defo light up Villa park next season if he comes. Damo could comment on what your source rates the transfer as. Does he think we have no chance of signing him or does he think there is a real possibility? Also Damian is this going to be in the papers tomorrow?

Cracking signing if we get him. Don't think MON has given up on SWP either.We could still do with a prolific striker too. Even if we get Ashton; he's just another brutal centre forward, if fit, will return 12 goals max.

De la red is a player i have tracked for a while as i can never understand why he was never deemed quite good enough for the Real Madrid team.
To this question i have finally worked out the answer, he is too much of a team player!
if we got him this would be a fantastic trade off for Gareth Barry, who sounds like is getting as annoyed as the rest of us with liverpools management/onwership style.
anyway onto Ruben De la Red's stats:
These are from his career playing total.

108(23 as sub) total career appearances (including for real's junior and B sides)
21 goals (including 7 senior goals and 3 international ones)

The really interesting fact is his assists not very convincing untill last year (when he signed for getafe) when he got 17 assists, the highest in the spanish la liga, which i think we would all agree would be a fantastic addition to villas creativity!
roll on The unveiling!!!
about the Gareth Barry thing, is anyone else thinking that he maybe realising that perhaps they dont want him as much as we want to keep him?, by we i mean aston villa the club.

barry stayin wouldnt be a bad signing ive just bet fifty he plays sunday

i have been refreshing the pages for news since Damo left the clues but now its out It sounds exciting, if he signs but something in the post sticks out and is adding to the excitement and i quote from Damian's comment:
[quote]i'll clearly be eating humble cake if they do this and the next one that is getting talked about[/quote]

the thing that sticks out is the bit about 'if they do this and the next one'.

I ask what next one? now your teasing give us info and then drop another hint at a another surprise lol. care to expand Damian

LINK

Liverpool Football Club. A proud and noble institution fallen, sadly, on difficult times. The two owners hold each other in contempt, but not in as much contempt as they both hold the manager.

It will end in tears. Their fall from grace is an atonement for the terrible sins of Heysel and Hillsborough. Hubris has played his final game and now Nemesis hovers resolutely over Anfield, a knowing smile on her lips. She knows the inevitability of Fate.

The manager senses it too. His nostrils twitch at the breeze and he smells the decay. His answer to his demons is what it has always been – spend, and then spend more, and more again. He hopes that this constant commercial activity will distract the Gods but they are merely amused at his torment. A month ago he was immensely cheered by an offer to return to his former employers – The Barcelona Tapas Bar Y Restaurante in Lime St, London. He could leave behind the turmoil at LFC and return to the calm and civility of his customers at tables 9-16 and the handsome tips they left for him. His dreams were shattered when it turned out that the offer was for a position as kitchen porter.

He thought about it for several days but declined. And then, a week later, he awoke suddenly at 3 am and saw Bill Shankley’s ghost at the foot of his bed. He hid his head under the covers and wept but his sobs couldn’t drown out Shankley’s advice. “Eighteen million for Barry? Forget it! Go for the better value – one hundred million for O’Neill”.

The good news for Liverpool fans is that re-birth and renewal will follow this decline. Hicks and Gillett will move on and the fat waiter will be found working at The Gunner’s Grill, Holloway Road, North London.

Would be a great signing if we could pull it off but i thought this would only happen if barry went,or maybe mon is planning to use barry on the subs bench next year!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

thanks for the inside scoop damien muchly appreciated. this is all so exciting. villa4life

Thanks for the news, Damian, understand you can't say much else. But it seems they've been working this, and it's good to hear they're willing to do "whatever it takes."

Poor Gareth if DLR comes, and the Liverpool transfer falls through. "But I'd like to stay now, sir!"

Correct me if im wrong but didnt you state 2 months ago we were on the verge of signing Bentley ?

This will be brill if it comes through... cheers damo

I knew it!! Lets just hope MON and Randy can now get him to sign. This could be the catalyst for bigger signings to come.

Fingers crossed!!!!

So Damian,
Are you saying there is a second target in the pipeline too that you know about????

Sorry i would love to belive that we will land a player off such class but i think we might only sign one more and that will be cb i lie the rumour of anton ferd and dean aston new that would be nice!!! ;D

Oh My GOD!!!!!!.. This was broken as a story 2 weeks ago. Damian shame on you. All your pontificating yesterday about a mystery signing....what next Big story that we might be interested in Wright Philips or Milner.

As I said yesterday...self gratifying garbage.

Does anyone have any detailed info about the man? Goals to games, caps, age, hair colour etc.

villabiker, this site is slow to refresh, you have to refresh frequently to see new/your own posts,

Holy s**t its true! well its on wiki, either someone has changed it or Wiki know something we dont!!

LINK

"Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón confirmed in May 2008 that, along with Granero and Javi García, De la Red would return to the Bernabéu for the 2008–09 season. He could be used in a swap deal involving a number of potential targets, although Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has stated that he would like to give the midfielder a chance to impress in his team. Aston Villa have been linked with the midfielder and a bid has been accepted"

HAPPY DAYS!

LINK

de la red scoring for real madrid ,quality (but also watch the sub hit his on the bench again quality)
And who;s the other player u mentioned damo

How old is the news.... Story broke in 2nd week of JULY!!!!!!

check the dates on these - LINK

LINK

LINK

"I'll clearly be eating humble cake if they do this and the next one that is getting talked about."

Wow wow, don't do that again! Who's the "next one" then?! Or are we taking your words out of context?

No idea anything about DLR so a brief history would be really useful if anyone can post it.

Daniam what do you mean if we get him and this other player?

who is the other player??????????

An astute piece of business by O'Neill if it goes through, and perhaps the final word in the whole Gareth Barry saga? It's looking more and more like Barry de la Red isn't going to happen, so just to add insult to injury O'Neill signs Ruben de la Red. Quality.

its on wiki!!!!

LINK

According to his Wiki:

"... Aston Villa have been linked with the midfielder and a bid has been accepted..."

Seems he has only played 10 times for Real Madrid and has shot to fame (and Spain national squad) based on a loan season at Getafe.

2004–2007 Real Madrid Castilla 70 (12)
2004–2007 Real Madrid 10 0(0)
2007–2008 Getafe CF 31 0(3)

(Real Madrid Castilla are the reserve team that play in the third level of Spanish football: there are 4 groups of 20 teams at this level)

great signing he maybe but dont get too carried away
if he signs how will he adapt to the squad as most of our team are english speaking it will take him time to settle and learn,

again if he does sign we probably wont see him play till the latter half of this new season....

Now its not on wiki .. cause i just deleted it!

Thats how easy it is to edit that website lads.. anyone can do anything to any page!

hey damien how come only you have this info and not other sites, surely it must have leaked out elsewhere?

or are u the krulak in disguise? yet another public relations stunt.

we all fucking now that this aint going to happen regardless!!! he wants to stay at real madrid full stop.

i would rather take shaun wright philips anyday or even milner over de la pink!!!

guys lets get off cloud nine, this transfer aint happening, if it was going to happen and we put a bid in yesterday then that calderon guy who has a largest mouth in football would ave come out and said that they are recieved a bid from villa!!

this is a fucking joke!!!

Here in Spain, the reports eminating from Valencia are saying that a Premier team has tabled a bid for two of their players. :o None of the Madrid based papers have anything about De La Red in them what so ever, and normally they are very hot on these things. But i suppose they could be wrong.

I KNEW IT
genius damien, pure genius (if we do get him)
Cmon!!
noticed you had MON again as your picture!!!
get in there...

Ok Damo
Well done!
Give us a clue to the next one....
Is it a striker?
If this all happens and fat boy stays as well - we will be well sorted.

wow...De La Red...what a world renowned player, i thought the suprise was somebody good..

How much are we bidding and will it be enough? And I assume that it doesn't change us bidding for Ashton and A. Ferdinand

I read on [url][/url]sportinglife.com[url][/url] a week ago that we'd reportedly made a £9.5million bid for De La Red and he said that he'd received offers from England but wanted to stay with Real Madrid. So did we make this bid a week ago or was yesterday's bid the first? Apparently Schuster wants to give him a chance and with Sneijder injured there may be a space for him. I have to say I'm not that optimistic about this one unfortunately. We really could do with a player like this though and I hope it happens. He provided Getafe with 17 assists last season and was seen as their playmaker. He isn't exactly a goal scorer his skill and hard-working attitude is really what we need.

Haines thanks for the stats appreciated.
Andy5759 thanks for letting me know about refreshing page.
Silent bob is there a big cloud over your house I swear if we signed Ronaldo there would be something wrong for the first time in many a season I think the prem will have to sit up and look over your shoulder Liverpool were coming.

vogra. raul wouldn't sign for a uefa cup team on the rise. we have to face facts that we are aquiring players at our level. we aint going to get real madrid starters are we!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop being so negative all the time. how bout some support

i so hope we gets this man would be awesome!and then keep on spendin the 2 boys from the hammers then swp!!

By the way i'm joking..

Id love it if we got this guy, looks a great player, creative in the centre of the midfield just what we need..

Would love O'Neil to have a bid for Falcao

villa villa agree 100%!!

Who does this "damian" think he is? Get real lads if this was as big a news as damian said it is it will be all over the internet and not some 2 bit villa would know before the likes of sky sports, setanta, the sun, the spanish media ect....

I am not beign funny but villa are on the up regardless, dont be sucked in because you will all be on cloud 9 believeing something and when it dosent happen you will be back in the dumps and moaning just like the few who are even moaning even though we now have a right back!!

SO WE DIDNT SIGN LUKE YOUNG LAST YEAR, SO HE COST US 6MIL SO WHAT!!! WE ARE ASTON VILLA NOW SHUT YOUR MOANING AND GET BEHIND THE TEAM AND BELIEVE IN MON AND NOT SOME DIV OFF THE NET!!

AVFC

damian what do you rate our chances of getting the player 10 for being a dead cert 1 for being extremely unlikely

Great News! ;D Hope this goes through!

We know you can't say much yet but are you sure you'll be able to tell us more by tonight? Also, does anyone know if there's any truth in the 2 bids for Valencia players? Or is that just a rumour at the moment?

UTV

Yes. Yes. Yes.
Where are the angry brigade?

yep it would be great for oneil just to show intent by going for falcao, if you search enough on him, he looks just like a slightly more tenacious tevez, plus i dont think man u would go for him after wrapping up tevez deal, or as good as.
these two are too similar for him to have them both.
klass Jan Hunterlar would be ok in my book too!!!!

Villa 2-0 up at half time against sunny Marbella!

guys
how much would it make you laugh if barry was going to used as bait to get his champ league football? he said he wanted champ league not gerrard partnership nor liverpoool. his reason for anting to go was champ league. this could be hilarious. darth rafa you fat waiter you are crap at transfers and dare i say it MON is starting to look like he plays the market like a true pro.

MOn is a transfer pro. now thats rereshing to hear isn't it
it feels really good try saying it. it feels awesome

Oh Please Martin... Oh please Randy.... with a cherry on top sign De La Red... show the world the ambition every Villa fan has had since ye have taken over... De la Red is quality... him and one or two or if i'm greedy which i am 5 new players over the next week.
(I wasn’t alive for 81 and 82' so you can't blame me for wanting to see those great times return to the team i love)

Give us De la Red, Ashton, Ferdinand, Kaboul, Falcao and Larsson of our dearest neighbours

How Good would it be to start at Man city with a squad of:

GK: Friedel / Guzan and Taylor
FB: Young / Shorey / Bouma / O'Halloran / Gardner at a push
CB: Laursen / Davies / Knight/ Kaboul/ Ferdinand
MF: De la Red / Sidwell / Gardner / Reo-Coker / Osbourne / Salifou / Petrov
AM: Young / Maloney / Routledge / Larsson
FC: Carew / Ashton / Gabby / Harewood / Falcao

Now that squad would crack the top 4, I think under MON it could do even better... Uefa cup? Title challenge... I can dream… But under Martin and Randy that dream isn’t too far away…

UP THE VILLA!!! :) :D ;D

Villabiker

dont knock me for being practicl im as excited as you and would love it i was ecited about young and shorey yesterday to the point i stopped working and spent pretty much all day on avfcblog

i was just making a point about the settling in period he will have to adjust to if he does sign

belive me im not taglor or any other neagative posters but i am a realist who can see practical sides of situations.

before you knock me again have a GOOD look around this place and in the forum then judge weather or not im in the neagative brigade or not pal...

I thought it would be De La Red Arsenal want him aswell tho so its far from happening but good to hear!

De le red would be great. Who is other Mr X damien???
Why is anyone worried about Barry. He has made it clear he does not want to play for Villa. So either use him as tool to get in another player or get the money soon as. Thanks for the service but this club and its fans is bigger than any one person.

Tease... ;)

Not so silent bob
Do not get to spend as much time on site as would like, but off work this week, was also on site most day yesterday in anticipation of X man and NSSB was class on forum '? or ? 'and from what I could see is top class villa fan.

As harsh as his post was I have to agree with villavilla, I just cant see this but if it happens I will streak from the lower holte next year!

cheers johno much appriciated karma awaiting in forum ;D

damaian, not hassle i promise............
when do i ever hassle you?

just can you elaborate on your comment in the article that says
'but rest assured this is something that has been going on for a while - it's not a recent fancy'

why would we be bothered if its a fancy? whats occuring?

Marca are reporting that we are in talks with Real Madrid about bringing de la Red to Villa Park. They are usually very ITK on things concerning Real. Looks like this has some truth in it! :D

i really really hope we get the lad but i dont know it seems a long way away yet. this is my team for next year gk.... friedel
l young curtis m laursen shorey

sidwell hokey pokey
de la red


swp carew a young

subs guzan,kaboul,gardner,harewood,routledge
very decent team should push on from last year i feel and hope
UTV

good team add milner into the mix and we have a fairly good young powerfull pacey squad

Wow that's a real exclusive Damian and totally unexpected???

Unless of course you read the below link which was on Skysports on the 29th July 2008: -

LINK

Or De La Red's statement that he didn't want to leave Madrid on the 1st August 2008: -

LINK

Hardly worth all the suspense and I certainly wouldn't give up the day job!!!

mayb martin has done a villa camp in spain 1 to gain match fitness n 2 to sort out the deal with de la red, its a possibility

Ill be totally honest, id never heard of the guy before he was spoken about on this blog. If anyone could post up videos or anything like that it would be good.

He certainly has a good background and if Arsenal are after him then he will most probably be great. I cant help being a little upset that this is "player X" as you had already said about it before. Still if he is as good as everyone seems to think he is ill be well happy. Milner would be great aswell!

link halfway down comments by 'always villa' youtube link, quality headbenching!!

I watched him play in a few games for Getafe in there UEFA cup run to the Quarter final last year, also saw him play about once or twice in the spanish league on Sky as well, and most recently in that Spain vs Greece match where he scored. I wouldnt describe him as a like for like replacement for Barry, first and for most i really doubt he will score as many goals as barry, but saying that im sure he wont get to take all of our penalties if he did sign. Although thats not to say he cant score goals he certainly has the ability. He does play centre mid but hes naturally adept at playing the Holding role as well, he reads the game very well and i would describe him as a better tackler than Reo-coker. Hes not the fastest player but he does have enough pace to cope with the prem i think and certainly has the ability to dribble past players without having to rely on pace, now in this sense he is very much like Barry, as we all know barry doesnt rely on his pace.

If this transfer happened we would be getting a good player who showed he can cope with the big time in his loan season at getafe last season and hes young, he has the ability to be real gem for us and im sure could replace barry as creative centre of our midfield.

But who knows if this transfer will happen, Snejider is injured with i think crucient ligament damage to his knee so that could be several months out, so there is room for him in the squad.

Here's hoping!!

This was on sky on the 1st August - this is not new?!
LINK

this would be an amazing signing...not just for villa but for the premier league...id love to see him at villa park and be a true hero!!!!!

i just really hope it comes off and works out!!!

it would definatly pave the way for other players, especially if we get into the UEFA cup proper!

com on oh mighty one..do the deeds and get him!!!!!

It would be martins biggest signing ever IMO

Would be great to have more non english players as they add something diffrent and are vital for europe otherwise we will end up like celtic was

damian are you confident we will actually get him please reply

If De La Red comes to Villa where would he play? Is he a central midfielder/playmaker or is he the right-sided winger that we've been in the market for...?

The right-sided midfielder is the "key" position in my book. Bentley would have been great, but unfortunately we didn't poney up enough cash. We a good crosser of the ball, and someone that balances out Young's game... NOT a carbon copy...

thats more like it :)

Wow... hasn't this story been running for a while, nice work Damian! :'( And stop teasing us, who is this other player that you talk of that is a load of rubbish and we wont sign. the dean ashton story was a long shot, but cant see this happening in the slightest.

fitzy not even a space on bench gor gabby, mind you get 7 subs next year dont ya

Could be a classic signing,

Ashton/Anton rumour; my mate has been reading West Ham Blogs and they seem to agree that the bid is in and because they're in the sh!t financially (due to a lot of money due to be paid) they may be willing to lisen to offers!!

Would be two quality signings, not sure on Anton though, needs the MON effect!!

Is there definately another player lined up Damo or could it be the two from Valencia??

Anyone who questions why would a quality player come to us take a look at the shite at White Hart Lane, Uefa football plain and simple, if you wanna impress at International level you have to be playing in Europe not sat on the Bench or in the reserve team!!

Come on MON get signing these asap!!!!!!!

So, did O'Neill travel with the squad to Spain? Or did he stay at home? If he went, I wonder if we can expect any negotiations?

Damian Lets hope you look like nostradamus in the morning and not a blog publicity hungry twat ;)

fitzy, hi mate dont even bother asking damien this question as he doesnt know himself.

its all a p.r stunt, not by damien but by others in the field.
there is no de la red coming to villa, there will be hopefully shaun wright phillips.

please guys dont have a go at me, but why is it that no newspaper, skysports or other forums/blogs have this info, if this guy damien is getting info from is a insider or something else, why wouldny he tell any1 else about this?

i emphasis that this only a p.r stunt, just like krulak, who has shot himself in the foot again and apologised in a newspaper for saying that villa have 30 million to spend on 1 player.

have u noticed, all this news gets all of us randy and excited but then nothing ever happens?

its all a joke, these guys who run villa are professional people who have had media training and know how to play us the fans of villa.

look at redknapp, he openly tells the fans who is after and 9 out of 10 he gets them!!!! y the fuck is there silence from mon and the club?

i hope the club reads these messages and hopefully they will act asap!!!!

sorry for being so negative, but please guys dont get ur hopes up because if this transfer doesnt happen then you will all jump on mon's and damiens back for reporting such utter shit!!

If we get this guy then MON isn't as bad at transfers as I've been thinking for three years.

If we don't get this guy my opinion stays the same.

It's not that I don't believe it could happen, I'm just bored of seeing so many names linked with us on this site and on others - just to get excited about them - only for it not to happen! You can only take it for so long before you go crazy, so I choose not to until signed sealed and delivered!

Yesterdays boys are a decent enough start for quality, so too would the wet spam pair be, but as for De La Red I'll believe it when I see him with the shirt... or a nice cheesy "NEWSFLASH - De La Red in for talks" on the o.s. ;D

Re: the headbanging sub

It's Red Ruud hitting another fence.

it appears spurs and arsenal want de la red too. isnt it the case that we will only get him if spurs can get arshivin and arsenal arent interested? also if pool dont come up with the money for barry can we afford (will mon spend?) 12 million for de la red?

Any more news? a clue to the other player perhaps and what chance of the DLR deal going through?

The story is breaking? I've SCOURED the interweb, and can't find a single post about De La Red anywhere...

Same opinion as most on here, seen him a few times, he looks very assured, and is probably about as high quality a player that we can hope to attract, but unfortunately, i don't see him being attracted by us. Firstly, Real would have to accept a bid...now Real are not ones to need money from us, especially not in the region of 10-12mil for someone who they see as a very good prospect, or at least one good enough to buy back this summer. It is possible they saw the opportunity to earn a quick buck knowing they could sell him for more than their buy back price, but i severely doubt Real are in desperate need for funds. Secondly, the guy has been told he'll be given a chance, and he believes that, and i can only think that in his head, if he's already at Real Madrid with a chance of first team football, why would he go anywhere else...players strive their entire careers for his position...so why at such a young age would he choose to cash that in to play with a team who's trying to qualify for the Uefa cup, and who he has probably barely heard of. It's a great story, and a great signal of intent...but sadly i fear we're not an attraction for such a player. The big however is that managers don't usually persue a target, especially not with a bid, unless they've got a pretty good idea that they'll get said player. So...fingers crossed ay.

pprid ye mate that was a mistake course gabby should be there if we get swp those two could have a healthy battle for that position.i think villa villa may be right too you know ive also scoured the web looking for sources but havent found any although i do hope damian is right and we do get him. id personally be more excited if we signed 3 more players those being swp ashton and anton ferdinand however if the de la red deal goes through maybe we wont get any of them who knows sure only the legend that is martin o neill villa 4 life......keep the faith this could be a unbelivable season lets pray eh

A report in the Mail claims that we've had a bid of "around £10" turned down for Santa Cruz. It would seem that, were we to sign DLR (a central midfielder) and Santa Cruz, we'd be looking at a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation, with Gabby and Ashley on the wings (with Maloney and Routledge as backup) and a 1st choice midfield of Barry (hopefully), DLR and Sidwell/Reo-Coker. Santa Cruz would battle it out with Carew for the lone stiker role. I say this because it would be more effective than 4-4-2, given the type of players we have (i.e. Agbonlahor not really being an out and out striker, but being dangerous as a wide attacker; us having no right-sided midfielder, other than Routledge, and no left-sided midfielder other than Young, who anyway mostly played as an old-style outside left last season because, with such a narrow right midfielder (Petrov or Reo-Coker), he had the freedom to).

Of course, I could be completely wrong. After all, we haven't yet signed DLR and Santa Cruz is a less substantial rumour still. And maybe we'll sign a decent right winger instead. Or as well, and have an overloaded central midfield (Coker, Petrov, Sidwell, Salifou, Osbourne, DLR, and very possibly, or even probably, Barry).

Interesting, if not entirely comfortable, times.

apparently we have are going to bid 7m for santa cruz.according to the mail.

i would love to see DLR at villa park, bt were going to be hard pushed to get him judgin by reports earlier on in the transfer window.

it still shows villa have ambition, and iva also herd from a source that we are after santa cruz.

Aston Villa Are Linked With The Spanish Man And It Seem's They Have Put A Bid In, but this information is based on a very unreliable source in Birmingham called Damian.

aha jus read that on wikipedia

No idea how many shirts we've sold so far, but i think the figure will go through the roof the second we have "DE LA RED" or even "LARSSON" to put on the back of them!!

Fact is, the De La Red deal will all hang on Barry leaving, which is seemingly becoming less likely by the day.

Currently our money would be best spent on a right winger or a striker. The last thing we need is an £18m substitute. I'm not normally a party pooper. I'm so excited about Villa this season!! Oh no, i've pissed myself...

Is it me or is Benitez referring, in his ever so unsubtle way, to Stuart Downing, not Barry? I mean, if he wants Barry as his left winger next season then great... because we'll have an easier run at 4th.

My punt on the other player if there is something in DLR would be someone to help him settle. Saviola would fit the bill being a current squad-mate but any decent Spanish speaker would suffice.

It will be a fair signing if we can bag him, although i would rather see us grab a Right Winger first and a headline striker to score 15-20 goals i