Villa boss Martin O’Neill has admitted being in Munich to watch the UEFA Cup quarter-final between Bayern against Getafe – but refused to confirm who his targets were.
Reports suggested O’Neill was targeting Bayern centre-half Daniel van Buyten from his flying visit on Thursday night.
Villa are short of centralo defensive reinforcements for next season and O’Neill is seeking cover.
Having sold Gary Cahill to today’s opponents Bolton, the Villa chief will lose Olof Mellberg to Juventus in the summer and also has Curtis Davies out until at least October.
But the Villa chief insists the trip was merely part of his preparations for the summer.
“Watching football is my job,” he said. “We have to be active at this time of year, but the same applies for every single club.
“Interview any manager at all and they’ll be doing exactly the same thing.
“It’s important for us to try to strengthen the squad. Like most other Premier League sides we have a good scouting network.
“We want to try to do something about it and the more players I can see personally, the better.”
O’Neill has made clear his determination to bolster the Villa squad this summer.
Speaking at the time, he said: “I enquired about some players who I felt could significantly improve the team but it wasn’t to be. I was spurned in those advances.
“But those players may well be available in the summer.”
O’Neill, meanwhile, ad-mits he’s still learning the game after last week’s humbling defeat at Manchester United.
“We played very openly against United, and they enjoy playing against us because we don’t try and close the game down,” said the Villa boss.
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