The two clubs have yet to
come to an agreement, a situation which is thought to have
prompted Chelsea to increase their interest in the England
midfielder.
City, having declared their hand some weeks ago, are keen to
secure Milner as soon as possible - especially in light of
Chelsea’s interest - and according to some, they have managed to
convince the 24 year-old to agree to a five-year deal at Eastlands
worth around £80,000 a week.
However, Aston Villa are
happy to play on the fact that England manager Fabio Capello has
banned his players from transfer talk during the World Cup, and use
the time to hold out for £30m.
The club have only received one formal offer to date - a £20m
bid from City last month - but it looks increasingly likely that
Chelsea will enter the race after the club failed to agree new
contracts with Joe Cole and Michael Ballack.
Randy Lerner, the Villa owner, said this month that the club
would do everything possible to retain their £12m record
signing.
Indeed, he and Martin O’Neill met with Milner, who has two years
left to run on his current deal, before England flew to South
Africa, and offered him a new contract worth around £70,000 a
week.
The commonly held view, however, is that Milner, voted the Young
Player of the Year by his peers last season, will leave Villa Park
once he returns from South Africa, either for a considerably more
impressive pay cheque, or a chance to play football in the
Champions League with Chelsea.
