Petrov to lead O'Neill revolution

Villa are paying Celtic an initial £6.5m for midfielder Stilian Petrov, rising to £8m on appearances - a total bettered only by the £9.5m splash on striker Juan Pablo Angel.

Petrov has agreed a four-year contract with the club, who have met the 27-year-old's £32,000-a-week wage demands.

"I'm very pleased to get him in," said O'Neill. "He will certainly add something to our squad.

"I know what he can do having seen him play at Celtic, and the pleasing thing from my perspective was that as soon as I was able to speak to him, he wanted to come.

"There had been suggestions that there was a delay caused by a problem over wages, but that was never the case and we are delighted to get him on board."

O'Neill's first signing brings to an end a three-week chase after the manager earmarked his former Celtic favourite as his No 1 target.

Petrov will be back in England next week in time to make his Villa debut in the televised clash at West Ham on September 10.

A central midfielder with a goalscoring knack, he is expected to initially put Steven Davis under pressure. But his arrival could see Villa accommodate both in O'Neill's determination to have a more flexible approach.

As the dust settled on the Petrov deal, there was a good deal more scepticism about some of the other speculation surrounding O'Neill's moves to strengthen the team. Villa were linked to Argentinian strikers Javier Saviola and Tottenham's Jermain Defoe, with Saviola's agent Alfred Cabrera insisting: "We have options in Spain, England and Italy, but there will not be definitive movement until today."

But Villa today rubbished reports that they had made a bid for the Barcelona-based star, while Defoe's agent, Sky Andrew, told the Express & Star: "There's nothing in this at all. This is entirely speculation."

The Petrov deal effectively wipes out O'Neill's initial transfer kitty and he would have to rely on new owner Randy Lerner, who attended last night's reserve defeat with O'Neill at Reading, to sign any more players.

Villa's Carling Cup second-round tie on Wednesday, September 20, will be screened live on Sky (7.45pm).