Aston Villa begin their bid to hold on to Gareth Barry, while Sergio Ramos insists he is not on his way to Chelsea...

VILLA AIM TO KEEP BARRY

Who? - Gareth Barry

Where is he? - Aston Villa

Who is he linked with? - Liverpool

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has confirmed that he and club owner Randy Lerner have held talks with captain Gareth Barry to try and keep the England midfielder at Villa Park. The 27-year-old has been the subject of a recent bid from Liverpool and has also been linked with Chelsea and O'Neill is well aware that Barry has been unsettled by the speculation. He told the club's official website: "We've spoken to Gareth and our situation remains the same - that everyone at Aston Villa Football Club wishes very strongly that Gareth will stay. "Obviously he's at a big stage of his career. He's 27 years old and he's been here almost ten years. He's due a testimonial and if he sees the club continuing to progress we definitely want to keep him. He still has two years of his contract to run and Liverpool have put in an offer that, well, it's almost debatable whether it is an offer. Things are very much up in the air and the main aim for the chairman and myself is to try and keep him at the football club. That's what we're trying to do. You can make people see out their contracts, but in essence we would want a pretty amicable solution to all of this and we're still hopeful that things can be resolved in favour of Aston Villa. I'm never overly confident, but what I would say to the fans is that we're doing our utmost and we'll continue to do so. We want to show Gareth that we mean business. Gareth, despite what has been said in some newspapers, has never expressed unhappiness at Aston Villa. We want to keep him and we've got certain things in our favour. We want a solution that everyone is happy with and the last thing you want to do is keep an unhappy player at the football club, but Gareth Barry has not expressed his unhappiness at Aston Villa."

RAMOS DISMISSES EXIT TALK

Who? - Sergio Ramos

Where is he? - Real Madrid

Who is he linked with? - Chelsea

Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos has firmly slammed the door shut on a summer move away from the Primera Liga champions. Both AC Milan and Chelsea were rumoured to be lining up mega-money bids for the versatile 22-year-old, but Ramos insists he is going nowhere. He told Marca Radio: "I am very sure that I am staying. I am flattered that great teams like AC Milan or Chelsea are interested in me. That is a sign that things are going well for me and drives you on to keep improving and playing better for Real Madrid. I have a very long contract and the only thing I think about is retiring here. I am very comfortable with my team-mates, the club and the city and so are my family. Also I feel calm. I have renewed my contract and I am very pleased with the deal I have, although one always aspires to improve and grow in every aspect."

TOP FLIGHT CLUBS IN FOR ZARATE

Who? - Mauro Zarate

Where is he? - Birmingham City

Who is he linked with? - Unnamed Premier League clubs

Birmingham City's loan striker Mauro Zarate is a target for several other Premier League clubs, following the Blues' relegation from the top-flight. The 21-year-old Argentinian scored four times in 14 appearances for the Blues following his arrival from Qatari side Al Sadd, impressing with both his skill and commitment. Zarate's agent, Christian Otero, told BBC Sport: "He's in discussions with two top English sides at the moment. "Al Sadd had quoted about £20million for him but I think he will go for about £10million. I expect to have more details regarding Mauro's future next week." Birmingham manager Alex McLeish had earlier admitted that he was disappointed to see his chances of signing Zarate on a permanent basis ended by his side's demotion. He told the Birmingham Mail: "Mauro's going to be an attractive proposition to Premier League clubs, in fact I know he is. "I would like to thank him for his spell here and he made an impact, which was never going to be easy. It was a little bit of a risk bringing him in from a league where you can get away with things, be lazy and still look like a world-class star. I applaud his spirit, his heart and he will be a good asset to one of the big clubs, if not here then abroad. He's a real talent and it's just a shame that our situation counted against us."

ALONSO PLAYS DOWN ANFIELD EXIT

Who? - Xabi Alonso

Where is he? - Liverpool

Who is he linked with? - Real Madrid

Liverpool's Spain international midfielder Xabi Alonso has played down rumours linking him with a summer move away from the Anfield club. The 26-year-old's future with the Reds had been called into question due to Liverpool's interest in signing Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry, but Alonso has dismissed such suggestions. He told Sky Sports: "It surprises me because I know the real truth. There has been no movement from Real Madrid, whether official or otherwise. At the moment I am with Liverpool, I have a contract with Liverpool and I want to be at Liverpool. I have been surprised and very disappointed to read that I want to leave Liverpool. The people who write these things have clearly not done very rigorous research." Alonso, who joined Liverpool in the summer of 2004 from Real Sociedad, is under contract at Anfield until the summer of 2012 and has scored 14 goals in 163 appearances for the Reds.

ROCHEMBACK LEAVES BORO

Who? - Fabio Rochemback

Where was he? - Middlesbrough

Where is he now? - Sporting Lisbon

Brazilian midfielder Fabio Rochemback has returned to Sporting Lisbon after being released by Middlesbrough earlier in the week. The 26-year-old has agreed a three-year contract with the Portuguese club after spending the last three seasons on Teesside. "It is good for both sides," Rochemback told Boro's official website. So many things made me accept the offer. I know the club, the people working for the club, and there was the Champions League, which is very important for any football player. Life here is different to that in England." Rochemback scored seven goals in 91 appearances for Boro following his move from Barcelona for an undisclosed transfer fee in the summer of 2005. He also enjoyed a loan spell at Sporting during the 2004-05 campaign.

CELTIC IN VUKOJEVIC LINK

Who? - Ognjen Vukojevic

Where is he? - Dinamo Zagreb

Who is he linked with? - Celtic

Celtic are being linked with a move for Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Ognjen Vukojevic. The 24-year-old Croatia international has been on impressive form this season and is thought to be valued at around £3.9million. Celtic are rumoured to have already agreed terms witht he player, but his agent Danko Dikic said simply: "There are some big, big clubs interested in Vukojevic".

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