Aston Villa chairman calls crunch meeting with Gareth Barry

May 12 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

ASTON VILLA chairman Randy Lerner will meet Gareth Barry in an attempt to persuade the England midfielder not to join Liverpool.

Villa manager Martin O’Neill has been at loggerheads with Rafael Benitez over Liverpool’s interest in Barry, who has been linked with a £10million summer move to Anfield.

And O’Neill is refusing to give up Barry without a fight after watching his club captain fire Villa’s second goal in the 2-2 draw with West Ham.

He said: “We want to do our utmost to keep Gareth because he’s so important to us and is back to his brilliant best.”

He continued his attack on Liverpool’s handling of the proposed transfer by adding: “It’s interesting and ironic that apparently there was an offer from an Italian club for Steven Gerrard yet Liverpool were quick to remind everyone that he is under contract.

“Gareth has two years left on his contract and we want him to stay. The chairman will talk to him to show how much we value him.

“I will not be made to feel under pressure by other clubs because they want one of our players. We’re going to talk it through with Gareth.

“I can’t understand why Gareth would want to leave. He’s only 27 and has been brilliant for us.

“He has been selected for England and has played regularly for them because of his exploits with Villa.

“In terms of him playing in the Champions League, we can guarantee him that within the next 23 years!”

However Villa’s attempts to persuade him to stay look likely to end in failure.

The player is believed to be keen on pitting himself against the best players in Europe in the Champions League.

Barry and Ashley Young were on target for Villa at Upton Park but their efforts were not enough to secure fifth spot and a UEFA Cup berth.

The best they can offer Barry is a route into Europe through the Intertoto Cup – and even then manager O’Neill has his reservations over the competition.

He said: “I’m very pleased with the team because we’ve taken big strides since last season.

“It’s disappointing we’ve missed out on the UEFA Cup but with Everton beating Newcastle it doesn’t seem so bad.

“We’re in the Intertoto cup for definite now, which means we have to play 17 games in the middle of June!

“What it really means is that we have to be back a week earlier and be competitive sooner than expected because the ties are mid to late July.”