He's not a meerkat, he's a winger

Aleksandar Tonev could soon join Celtic though rumours abound that Villa might nip in to gazump the deal.

Alexander Orlov 

The 23-year old Bulgarian winger has been linked with the Scottish champions for months now and it had been expected that he would sign from Polish club Lech Poznan for £2million. However, some reports (no idea how accurate) would indicate that Paul Lambert has swooped to take the player to the Premier League.


Lazio, Fiorentina and Malaga have also been linked with Tonev though he had indicated that Celtic would offer a route to Champions League football, something Villa have no current prospect of offering.

However, the lure of the Premier League, the chance to play at grounds of stature such as the Emirates, the Etihad and Selhurst Park may persuade the wide man that Champions League isn't the be all and end all.

Raid on East Anglia?

With monotonal sour puss Mick McCarthy making noises that he expects Premier League clubs to come in for Ipswich Town left back Aaron Cresswell, it's no massive surprise to see Aston Villa linked with the player. Rumours abounded last summer that we were in for 23 year old, who initially emerged as a talent at Tranmere Rovers.

Few people doubt that Villa need strengthening at the back, but any move for the Scouse defender would surely only further dent the shaken confidence of Joe Bennett, a man who has seemingly been driven off Twitter by unthinking trolls.

We'll watch this one with interest.

Meanwhile, we're unsure whether to believe rumours of Elliott Bennett coming to Villa Park. We know that Paul Lambert likes him, he snapped him from Brighton & Hove Albion just two years ago and he played 30 out of 38 Premier League games for Norwich under our plucky boss.  He only got 20 starts under Chris Hughton, though he did have a spell out injured.

The Telford born 24 year old started his career at Wolves. Any move for the player may depend on who goes out, but there could be room for him if Stephen Ireland leaves and the rumours of Charles N'Zogbia and Monaco are true.

Return of the Prodigal?

Given Paul Lambert penchant for lower league youngsters with promise, it's no massive surprise to see Villa linked with a move for Brentford's out of contract starlet, Harry Forrester.

Villa actually stumped up a quarter of a million to sign Harry from Watford - back in the days when he was probably still reaching for the Clearasil - in a deal that could have been worth as much as £1million had he made the grade.

However, Villa chose to release the player two years ago. Having had a successful trial at Ajax, Forrester plumped to return to England and Brentford -  in a deal which raised a few eyebrows.

He is now an established member of the Brentford first team, earning plaudits as the team made the play offs and narrowly missed out on promotion.

Whether the wide man would fit into Lambert's style of play is open to question, but this situation is one to keep an eye on.

Charlie Austin? Could be bostin...

Reports from Lancashire suggest that Paul Lambert may be targeting Burnley striker Charlie Austin.

With Darren Bent looking increasingly likely to be on the move, an offer for the Clarets’ top scorer and player of the year looks to be a possibility ahead of the final year of his contract.

Lambert is understood to have watched the 23-year-old while he was in charge of Norwich City and believes an offer of £4 million could be enough to tempt the Turf Moor board to sell.

Austin's signature will be hotly contested with Celtic, Newcastle and newly promoted Hull City all weighing up bids for the ex-Swindon Town goal machine.

Di Canio's Sunderland have also expressed an interest in Austin, who ended the 2012/13 campaign with 28 goals.

Burnley have yet to receive an official approach for their star striker, who has just one year remaining on his contract.

Could Gayle breeze into Villa Park?

Rumours abound that Peterborough United's baby faced assassin Dwight Gayle could be the latest striker in Paul Lambert's crosshairs.

The Walthamstow born front man is garnering a reputation for a being a pacy force in attack and would fit the Villa boss's penchant for young hungry lower league starlets.

Competition for the £4 million rated 22 year old could come from QPR as they look to remodel their squad following relegation.

Any move for the player though could well be dependent on players leaving Villa Park. Darren Bent has indicated that he would want to leave if there's no chance of regular first team action while Nathan Delfouneso has spent the season on loan up at Blackpool.

Meanwhile rumours abound that find of the season Christian Benteke is being tracked by Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund.

James Chester?

The Daily Telegraph carries a story today linking Villa with Hull City's highly rated defender James Chester.

Hull City manager Steve Bruce determined to keep James Chester out of Aston Villa's clutches

Villa were reported to have scouted Chester (along with a myriad of other players) in the January window. However, the player is thought to only have a year on his contract and may be up for grabs if he can't be persuaded to sign an extension.

Standing at just 5' 10", he's hardly what you'd call statuesque, but has clocked up over 100 appearances in Hull's often miserly defence.

One to keep an eye on.