Barry’s future at Villa remains uncertain

Gareth Barry may still finish his season at Anfield, despite recent indications that the England international would be staying with Aston Villa for the duration of their UEFA Europa League campaign.

It seemed Barry was destined to stay at Upton Road when Liverpool initially refused to pay an 18 million pound transfer fee in a recent bid for Barry’s services, causing negotiations to break down. Barry then appeared in Aston Villa’s UEFA Europa League game in Iceland last week, which effectively ruled him out of playing in the Champions League this season.

However, Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill remains unconvinced that one of the club’s star players will be staying at Upton Road. With a debate currently raging over Barry’s proposed transfer amongst Liverpool management, there is still a possibility that the club may decide to pay the transfer fee before the September 1 deadline.

“At this minute it’s not completely resolved. We want him to stay, I think that’s obvious,” O’Neill said in a recent interview with the Birmingham Mail. “I think the fans want him to stay and for the length of time it has gone on it is hard to pre-empt anything.”