Aston Villa are prepared to sell Fabian Delph during the January transfer window, rather than let him leave for nothing in the summer.
The England international, who now has two caps for his country, is regarded as a key player for the Midlands side and has played 93 times since joining from Leeds United in the summer of 2009. As much as Paul Lambert would like to include the midfielder in his plans for the future, he is out of contract at the end of the season and looks unlikely to sign a fresh deal.
This means Delph would be able to join another club in the summer on a free transfer, but it is understood Villa would prefer to cash in on him now rather than see him walk away for nothing. According to the Daily Mirror, a price tag of just £4million has been placed on the head of the 25-year-old, which is sure to receive much interest from Premier League rivals.
Tottenham Hotspur are known to be keen on adding Delph to their squad, but it is widely believed that Liverpool are in pole position to sign the player. With Steven Gerrard ending his long association with the Anfield club at the end of the current campaign, Brendan Rodgers knows he needs reinforcements in midfield and sees the Villa star as the ideal partner for Jordan Henderson.
Lambert has already addressed the possibility of Delph leaving this month by taking Carles Gil from Valencia. The 22-year-old, a former Spain Under-21 international, arrived from the La Liga side earlier this month for a fee of £3.2million and on a four-and-a-half year contract, and his debut, despite being in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, was praised by his new manager last weekend.
Meanwhile, The Metro claim Ezequiel Lavezzi could also be heading to Anfield before the window closes on 2 February. The 29-year-old, an Argentina international, is deemed surplus to requirements at Paris Saint Germain, after he failed to report for their mid-winter training camp in Morocco. Arsenal and Tottenham have also been linked with the forward in recent times.
