Rumours surrounding Villa's diminutive and seemingly unwanted midfield maestro Barry Bannan continue to circulate.Paul Ince has made no secret of the fact that he thinks he's short up at Blackpool, where little Barry is no stranger, but any deal involving the Tangerines - current temporary home of fellow bomb squadee Nathan Delfouneso - is likely to be a loan only deal.
However, amongst the multiple rumours that Celtic might be in for our Barry, some are coming from credible sources. Talk of permanent deal with a fee of £ 1.5 million is in the air, but more likely would be another loan deal, especially as the Bhoys' Champions League future is hanging by a thread.
We also understand that the club is working hard to find opportunities for both Alan Hutton and Shay Given before the week is out, while Enda Stevens has been shipped out to Notts County on an emergency 28 day loan.
As for anyone coming in, we understand that Paul Lambert has one player in his cross-hairs but will remain tight-lipped as to that player's identity and position until and unless a deal is done. What we can glean from the meagre crumbs of info we are getting is that he is quite happy with the size of his squad following the summer additions and any new signing will be to add quality and "something different" to the squad, rather than making up the numbers.
The name of Aaron Cresswell has been widely circulated in the latest batch of rumours, but unless a shock exit for Joe Bennett is on the cards, this seems unlikely. More intriguing is the link with carrot-topped midfielder James McCarthy with Wigan likely to offload the promising 22-year old before the window shuts. The spoke in the wheels for this one would by Dave Whelan's asking price. Did you know Dave broke his leg in the FA Cup Final?
The truth is that The Two Pauls are playing their cards close to their chests and we probably won't know who our mystery target is until he's smuggled into Bodymoor Heath under a blanket.
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