Villa also went for Blues' signing Zigic

It has been revealed that Villa made a desperate last-ditch attempt to hijack Birmingham's move for Serbia striker Nikola Zigic.

The player's agent, Milan Calasan, claims Villa "begged" Zigic to put the transfer on hold until he had spoken to their manager.

Martin O'Neill is on holiday and has to be hands-on in transfer dealings, but the 29-year-old's heart was set on a move to Blues from Valencia and completed a £6million switch on Wednesday.

Calasan said: "We were contacted by Villa on the day we arrived in Birmingham and were talking to Blues.

"They begged us to wait a while. Without Martin O'Neill no decision can be taken and he's on holiday.

"There was nothing more logical than to finish a job with the club where all the doors were open."

The signing will be treated as a coup by Blues fans who have seen the club close the gap on their Second City rivals this year.

McLeish has already splashed out £12million on Zigic and goalkeeper Ben Foster from Manchester United, while Villa's transfer activity has yet to get off the ground.

Calasan also admitted mega-rich Manchester City were also in the hunt for the 6ft 8in striker and they even met an Eastlands contingent in Zurich.

He said: "In Switzerland we met with a representative of Manchester City, we wanted to listen, to hear his plans before we met with Birmingham."

Zigic has penned a four year contract worth £50,000-a week - making him Blues' top earner - but it was McLeish's desire to bring him to St Andrew's which clinched the deal.

Calasan said: "In Birmingham we had a great welcome. We were soon joined by Alex McLeish in the Radisson Hotel, who was accompanied by his wife and he spent an hour chatting with Zigic.

"McLeish believes in Zigic, that he'll be the main trump card for Birmingham in the coming seasons. It's really important to have the support of the coach.

"It's easier to know he's going to play every minute."

Zigic flew out to join Serbia for their World Cup preparations in Austria immediately after the deal.