Georgios Samaras has been excused from Celtic's tour of Turkey as he decides his future, amidst rumours that Villa have an interest in the player.
Out of contract this summer, the Greek international striker has fled to Greece to ponder his future following weekend talks with Parkhead head honcho Peter Lawwell.
A new contract is on the table at Celtic, but it is thought that the player believes he is at a crossroads in his career and could be tempted by a crack at another run in one of Europe's more competitive leagues, such as the Premier League, something life in Scotland can't offer.
Paul Lambert's strong Celtic connections mean that he'll be fully aware of the Samaras situation, but he may struggle to persuade the versatile forward that a move to a struggling Villa is his best option. However, the fact that the player is almost out of contract means that any fee would be negligible, making it easier to come to an agreement over salary.
Neil Lennon would rather not lose Georgios's mercurial talents, "I think he’d be hard to replace and I can see why there are clubs interested in him. I know he can be inconsistent but, when he was in the mood for us, he was simply awesome."
Samaras began his career at Crete, before making his name at Heerenveen. He moved to Manchester City for a fee of £6 million in 2006 but wasn't Sven-Göran Eriksson cup of tea and in January 2008 he was loaned out to Scottish Premier League team Celtic, where he's been ever since.
He's been a key player as Celtic have dominated the Scottish scene, average around one goal every three games, while he's also managed to rack up 70 caps for Greece.