O'Neill transfer setback

The club have been given permission to speak to Hearts keeper Craig Gordon with Sunderland amid sudden interest from Manchester City, while O'Neill also wants Albion central defender Curtis Davies.

Villa are believed to be willing to pay £6m-£7m up front for Gordon while the Black Cats' offer is £5m down and £4m in add-ons. O'Neill rates wantaway Davies at £8m.

Gordon missed Hearts' opening SPL 1-0 defeat to Hibernian last night to travel to talk to Sunderland, but O'Neill remains hopeful of securing his No 1 target.

But he revealed he has matched the demands of clubs only for the price to rise again.

"We've bid for people where we thought we had got them done, but it has gone beyond that again," he said.O'Neill revealed he has been surprised to find his first choices are suddenly becoming available again.

"I have a number of people worth pursuing because just when it looked as if it was a worthless venture, you can get light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

"I'd prefer to have the people I thought first of all and that's the case with a couple of people."

O'Neill wants a goalkeeper, right-back and central defender by the end of August but was cautious about whether Villa would have players in for Saturday's opener.

He warned: "I'm well aware there comes a time when we have to look at second choices and that may well be the case.

"We have a number of things on the go and it would be far too early to even make an assumption for Saturday.

"We have three games before the deadline - Liverpool, Newcastle and Fulham - so I'll take things one day at a time.

"This isn't something that I've been attempting to do in the last three days - it's been ongoing for some time."

John Carew (groin) misses tonight's friendly at Walsall but should be fit for the Liverpool game.