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Villa happy to hold out for £18m for Barry as Liverpool look to make fourth bid for midfielder
Aston Villa have told Liverpool they are under no pressure to sell skipper Gareth Barry until the price is right which will be in the region of at least £18million. Villa boss Martin O'Neill has no need to offload the England midfielder on the cheap because it is understood the deal will have no bearing on his own spending power during the summer.
O'Neill, currently working as a TV pundit at the Euro 2008 finals, is believed to be aware of the funds he has at his disposal from club owner Randy Lerner.Liverpool have already had three bids rejected by Villa for the 27-year-old and, while it appears inevitable that Barry will move to Anfield, O'Neill will not give the green light until his value of the player is met by manager Rafael Benitez.
A source close to Villa said: "The sale of Barry will have no effect on the plans Martin O'Neill has in place for the summer. Any deal for Barry will be on his and Villa's terms."
Benitez is expected to make a fourth offer during the coming week for Barry.
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Liverpool target David Silva from Valencia

Manager Rafa Benitez is preparing a bid for the winger after losing patience in his pursuit of Espanyol's Albert Riera and Newcastle's James Milner.
Valencia, in a precarious financial position, with reports suggesting they are having to pay out £20 million a month for repayments and interest on their new stadium, had initially placed a £20m price tag on the 22-year-old's head.
However, Benitez is hopeful he will be able to land the player for half the price. Another ace up Benitez's sleeve is his chief scout Eduardo Macia. Macia was working at Valencia when Silva broke through the ranks, and has close links to the Spanish international.
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Publically, Valencia insist they do not want to lose one of their most influential players, but privately they are reported to have contacted several clubs throughout Europe to gauge interest in Silva and David Villa
Villa is also on Benitez's wish list, although Liverpool's manager has so far been out off by the £30m price tag.
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