Villa are limbering up for a three-way fight with Sunderland and Tottenham for Kenwyne Jones.

The Black Cats striker is now believed to be among Martin O’Neill’s top January transfer targets with the prospect of Emile Heskey arriving from Wigan having receded.

Villa chief scout Ian Storey-Moore was in the stands for Sunderland’s game with Middlesbrough on Saturday, ahead of this weekend’s trip to the Stadium of Light.

It was the Trinidad and Tobago international who caught the eye ,with his fifth goal in six games. Sunderland have insisted Jones, who cost £6million from Southampton in August 2007, is going nowhere but they face a battle, with Villa and Spurs both hovering.

It seems likely Villa would have to equal or better the £12million club record fee spent on James Milner to get their man but O’Neill has already admitted he is prepared to pay inflated fees in this transfer window, as he bids to keep Villa’s Champions League challenge alive.

O’Neill said: “I have said I don’t mind paying over the odds if you get value for it in the long term, like Ashley Young two years ago, but it is a difficult market.

Defender Luke Young is one of those who know Villa are in for a tough task against the powerhouse this weekend, having already experienced first hand his match-winning qualities.

Young said: “Last season I went there with Middlesbrough and he single-handedly won the game for them. It’s not my job to be talking about players that might come to our club – but he is a great forward.”