The club have accepted a £12m offer for the midfielder,
who could have a medical in London this week. It is understood City
officials have flown to England's training camp to speak to the
midfielder who is currently preparing for the World Cup qualifier
against Kazakhstan. A deal could happen by Wednesday.
It will come as a huge blow to Villa, and their supporters, that
their stand-in captain is ready to join another club for reasons
other than those he has already put forward - primarily the
prospect of playing Champions League football.
That he is rumoured to be taking an almost £60,000-a-week pay
rise could have something to do with it.
Only last week the club’s owner, Randy Lerner, said he was
optimistic that Barry would stay at Villa Park this summer. The
club would be prepared, he said, to allow the midfielder to run his
contract down and leave on a free next year if he rejected any
advances, or that they would make him the highest paid player at
the club if he signed a new deal.
