Villa to splash the cash...on Tom Cleverley!

Tom

Paul Lambert is about to splash £8 million of  Randy's cash on Manchester United's underachieving midfielder Tom Cleverley.


Lambert will have to beat off competition from Hull City and Everton to land the England international and it's another signing destined to divide the fan base. Cleverley's performances for club and country have not been overly inspiring.

Randy Lerner

Cleverley has been told he can leave Old Trafford as new United manager Louis van Gaal seeks to reinvent his squad.


Reports suggest that Randy Lerner has loosened his vice like grip on the purse strings to allow the under-pressure Lambert to offer Cleverley a fresh start at Villa Park, with some trustworthy sources suggesting the bid has already gone in.

Whether Cleverley can rebuild his reputation in front of an notoriously unforgiving Villa Park crowd remains to be seen.

Stoke cast off Wilson Palacios on verge of Villa move?

Wilson

In the words of the late great Victor Meldrew "I don't believe it".

Stoke City spare part Wilson Palacios is on the verge of a move to Premier League rivals Aston Villa, according to reports in Honduras. This despite Villa's recent capture of Carlos Sanchez.

The 30-year-old midfielder had been (unbelievably) linked with a switch to Villa Park before but seemed set to be heading to Qatar earlier this summer.

That deal collapsed amid reports the former Wigan and Spurs man had  failed a medical. 

Stoke chiefs are reported to have been  working with Palacios's agent to see what options are available before the end of the summer transfer window.

Update: Mark Hughes has (hooray) pour cold water on this story:

"I'm not aware of that interest," he said. "He had an opportunity to go to Qatar which would have been good for him but that fell through.

"We like him as a person and a player but sometimes it's right to move on.


"Interest from other Premier League clubs is not something I'm aware of."

Is Aly Cissokho the answer at left back?

Could Liverpool flop Aly Cissokho be the latest player to fill the troublesome left back spot at Aston Villa? Possibly if reports emerging from media outlets in Valencia are to be believed.

Rumour has it that Valencia would take a nominal fee to get the player off their books.

Liverpool had an option to buy the player for around £3 million but declined after the player struggled to adapt to the Premier League. Brendan Rodgers often opted to play right backs on the left side rather than trust the Frenchman's defensive abilities. Some Villa fans will be sceptical about a player who lost out to Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan last term.

Antonio Luna has left on a season long loan and no one player has managed to make the left back slot their own as Paul Lambert has tried the likes of  Enda "Bomb Squad" Stevens, Kieran Richardson and Ciaran Clark in the role, while Joe Bennett found himself in the Under 21 squad for a friendly at Swindon.

Lambert has also experimented by three at the back and a left wing back role would seem more in tune with Cissokho's talents than as an out and out full back, based on what we saw from him while he was at Anfield.

Both Milan clubs have been linked with the player in the past.