Villa are preparing a £65,000 per week take-it-or-leave-it offer to convince Gareth Barry to snub Liverpool’s advances this summer.

Boss Martin O’Neill is prepared to hand the England star a bumper four-year contract which, at 28 years old, would represent the midfielder’s last big pay deal.

Barry, who joined Villa in 1997, is about to enter the final year of his existing contract and Liverpool have been widely tipped to renew their interest in him.

But Villa hope the lure of a lucrative new deal, which would also be likely to include a testimonial and the permanent return of the captain’s armband, will be enough to persuade him to stay in the West Midlands.

Talks have been ongoing with the player for some time and, while Villa are yet to formally table a fresh offer, they have laid their cards on the table to Barry and his advisor Michael Standing.

Barry, who has scored eight goals for the claret and blues this term, has intimated that no decision on his future will be made until the campaign comes to a conclusion.

But, with the season ending on Sunday, D-day is fast approaching.

O’Neill has admitted he will not deny the midfielder his dream of playing in the Champions League, should a top-four club come in for his services this summer.

Both the Villa boss and Barry have already insisted they are eager to avoid a repeat of the summer-long saga which surrounded the player’s on-off move to Liverpool last year.

The midfielder was the subject of a bitter transfer tug-of-war between O’Neill and Anfield counterpart Rafael Benitez during the close season, with the Reds making four failed bids for the left-footer.

But the claret and blues won the battle, after the Merseyside club refused to meet Villa’s £18million price tag.

Speculation this morning also suggested that Barry’s boyhood club Tottenham are interested in acquiring the midfielder’s services.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is a known admirer, but Barry’s wage demands could prove prohibitive.