O'Neill accepts Milner has gone - and now worries Ashley Young will leave too
Published 23:00 25/07/10 By James Nursey
Martin O'Neill accepts James Milner is set to quit Aston Villa – and fears Ashley Young will follow him out of the door.
Manchester City target Milner, 24, returns to Villa this morning after an extended break following international duty with England.
Milner has tried to book an appointment through O’Neill’s secretary to see the Villa boss after training this afternoon.
Milner wants to speak to O’Neill face-to-face as he is unhappy after his manager publicly claimed last week he wanted to quit.
The midfielder, signed from Newcastle in August 2008 for £12million, is keen to move to Eastlands but has denied demanding to go.
He wants Villa to lower their £30m price tag after rejecting City’s initial bid of £18m plus £2m in add-ons.
City are prepared to go to £24m and PFA young player of the year Milner will plead that it is a fair price.
Fellow Villa star Young, 25, won the PFA award in 2009 when Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp first admitted an interest in the winger.
As Mirrorsport revealed on Saturday, Redknapp now intends to return to try to sign Young this summer after Spurs made the Champions League.
O’Neill and Redknapp have already been in talks this summer about a swap deal involving Robbie Keane and Curtis Davies.
O’Neill is now braced for Redknapp to step-up his interest in Young as he seeks to build a title-challenging squad.
“In the next couple of weeks, I’m sure there will be great interest in Ashley, who has been fantastic for us,” admitted O’Neill.
“I felt myself that his form last season was every bit as good as in the previous year. Not everybody agreed with that but I thought Ashley was really a different class.
“Our job is, first and foremost to keep the players. If that is the case then that is great.
“If that is not the case then obviously we have to try and get the valuation that we put on players or get as close to it as possible.”
Villa also value Young, who has seven England caps, at £30m, after owner Randy Lerner admitted the club must sell-to-buy this summer.
They would prefer to raise funds by offloading fringe players Luke Young, Curtis Davies, Nigel Reo-Coker, Habib Beye, Steve Sidwell and Nicky Shorey.
“This year is going to be exceptionally difficult,” added O’Neill.
“It is a case of having to sell to buy and that is something you would have to be really constructive about.
“It is not ideal but that is the reality of it.”
