Reds reportedly bid for Barry

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Liverpool are understood to have launched their bid to sign Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry by tabling an initial £10million offer.

The Reds are believed to have formally contacted Villa on Thursday with their bid for the England midfielder.

There has been speculation for the past fortnight that 27-year-old Barry has emerged as one of Rafael Benitez's major summer transfer tasrgets.

It remains to be seen whether Villa manager Martin O'Neill will accept the bid for Barry who has two years to run of his current contract.

But Benitez wants Barry to form a partnership with his England colleague and close friend Steven Gerrard.

Barry, who celebrates the 10th anniversary of his Villa debut next week, has made no secret of his desire to play Champions League football.

He is on more than £40,000 a week at Villa and could come close to doubling that if he moved to Anfield or Chelsea who have also been linked with the player.

The former Brighton trainee has already expressed a desire to hold talks with Villa manager Martin O'Neill to assess what his transfer plans are for the 2008-2009 campaign.

Villa are challenging strongly for a UEFA Cup spot but Barry wants to see whether Villa are in a position to move to the next level.

O'Neill pulled off a masterstroke in persuading Barry to sign a new four-year deal when he took charge of Villa in the summer of 2006.

But he may find it harder to persuade Barry to sign a new contract and to convince him to stay with the midlands club.

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will make a good signing and barry can get champs league experience

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Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill claims Liverpool have made "an offer involving a mish-mash of nameless player exchanges" for Gareth Barry.

Reports earlier on Friday had suggested Liverpool had made a £10million cash bid to try and lure Barry to Anfield from Villa Park.

But O'Neill has revealed the offer is far from straightforward and has also criticised the Reds for leaking news of the approach.

Barry, who has two years to run on his current contract, recently admitted he might have to consider his future at Villa as he wants to be challenging for honours at this stage of his career.

O'Neill is understood to be interested in bringing Liverpool striker Peter Crouch back to Villa Park, while Scott Carson, currently on loan at the club, and defender John Arne Riise could also come into the equation if a cash-plus-players deal materialises.

But O'Neill would still want to keep hold of Barry if at all possible and insists Villa are "not a feeder club".

O'Neill told the club's official website: "Gareth Barry still has two years of his contract left to run and from my two years' experience of working with him, he's not one who would be wanting to break contracts lightly.

"Liverpool haven't made a straight cash offer. They have made an offer involving a mish-mash of nameless player exchanges.

"I'm particularly disappointed to hear that business is being conducted in public and I just want to be clear on this in that we're trying to build a side here and we're not a feeder club.

"We want to be trying to challenge. At some stage we want to get to the position that this football club once held. That will demand an awful lot of effort. It will take a supreme effort and it will take very, very good players."