Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is reportedly hoping to
sign Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jermain Defoe and Luke Young for a
combined £25m.
The club's multi-millionaire American owner Randy Lerner is willing
to bankroll the former Leicester and Celtic chief's bid to get
Villa battling it out for silverware and a European place next
season. And the Sunday Mirror claims he will hand him the funds
necessary to get the three main targets on board before the club
jet out to the US for a pre-season tour.
O'Neill is said to be ready to go back in for winger
Wright-Phillips and reports claim he will make a £10million bid
after the player was told he is free to move on if another club can
match Chelsea's valuation.
A similar offer could be made to Tottenham for striker Defoe, whose
chances of first-team football at White Hart Lane look to have
diminished after Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane signed new
long-term contracts, while Darren Bent joined from Charlton in a
£17million deal.
Charlton right-back Young is also a big target of O'Neill, who is
looking to add some more strength to the right hand side of his
defence ahead of the new season.
The 27-year-old England man wants to stay in the Premiership after
the Addicks suffered relegation last season and O'Neill could be
set to beat off competition from Middlesbrough and Newcastle to
sign him for up to £5million.
