Laursen could take skipper role

Manager Martin O’Neill has revealed Martin Laursen is among his candidates to replace Gareth Barry as captain of Villa.

The Danish international is one of several being considered to succeed Liverpool-bound Barry, who O’Neill appointed skipper two years ago.

Midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, who captained West Ham and England under-21s and led the team in the only game Barry missed through injury last season – ironically at Anfield – is another.

Soon-to-arrive Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell is another possibility.

O’Neill said: “There are a number of people on the list and Martin Laursen would certainly be one of the names I’d be thinking about.

“He was terrific last season. There are a number of people who would want it but there are a number of people who are on my list who might not want it.

“I haven’t discussed it yet.”

Villa are still awaiting a reply from Liverpool on their proposal, which is believed to involve a Reds player moving to Villa Park plus a cash sum in exchange for Barry.

As O’Neill awaits his answer, he still has many irons in the fire and has refused to rule out anything – including the possibility of signing Celtic’s former Wolves left-back Lee Naylor.

He said: “It’s a story that has grown arms and legs from that side.

“I’ll not dismiss anything, believe it or not, because the last thing I want to do is say ‘no’ and it to come back and haunt me.

“The very first mention of that came from Scotland. That’s not to say that Celtic wouldn’t want Shaun Maloney back in some sort of form.”

O’Neill has lost five senior players from last season’s squad but says he fully intends to have bolstered the numbers significantly by August 31.

He said: “We are looking to really bolster the numbers because we’re right down in numbers at this minute.

“We need to strengthen and we intend to strengthen and we are strongly in the market for the players.”