Villa duo attracting interest

Villa want £3.5m for the 21-year-old and Rangers will be back in the summer if they do not snag him now.

"I have made an enquiry about the player's situation," confirmed Smith yesterday.

Less clear is Gary Cahill's future as Villa continue to swat away bids for his services.

Sheffield United are the latest to meet with failure after Bolton's near £4m offer for the 22-year-old defender went the same way as Birmingham's.

Blades chairman Kevin McCabe said: "We offered what we thought were good terms for Cahill. But it looks like he's staying in the Premier League."

The departures adds to O'Neill's calculations in a season when Villa fans are daring to imagine their team can secure Champions League football for the first time.

O'Neill insists the club is big enough for the challenge – but the squad would need anything from three to seven more signings to cope with the extra demands.

"We'd need something in the region of 26-30 quality professionals," said O'Neill.

"At the moment, we've got 23. Three of those are goalkeepers, and when we look at everyone's squads, our's is still the smallest, including teams who haven't got the same followings as us."

• Villa were today linked with a £2.2m bid for MLS keeper Brad Guzan, who plays for Chivas USA, amid reports Martin O'Neill is reluctant to pay £10m for Scott Carson in the summer.

Guzan is 23 and is currently on trial with O'Neill's former club Celtic.