According to a report in the British tabloid The Daily Mirror, Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill is doing everything he can to persuade Gareth Barry to stay at Villa Park.
The England international was refused a transfer to Liverpool last summer, but it seems that he will be allowed to join the reds at the end of this season should the Villans fail to qualify for the Champions League.
With Arsenal, in fourth place, moving nine points clear of the Midlands based club on Saturday it is looking increasingly unlikely that Villa will be competing in Europe's elite competition for the 2009/10 campaign.
However, it is suggested that O'Neill is talking-up the 28-year-old in the hope that it will convince him to extend his current contract, which expires in 2010.
"Young Gareth has a heart the size of a lion," O'Neill is quoted as saying by The Daily Mail at a club dinner which Barry had also attended.
"He wants to play every single week and wouldn't take a break if you asked him.
"He doesn't get a break in the season and plays international matches. It is great for him, absolutely fantastic and he is very, very talented."
The England international was refused a transfer to Liverpool last summer, but it seems that he will be allowed to join the reds at the end of this season should the Villans fail to qualify for the Champions League.
With Arsenal, in fourth place, moving nine points clear of the Midlands based club on Saturday it is looking increasingly unlikely that Villa will be competing in Europe's elite competition for the 2009/10 campaign.
However, it is suggested that O'Neill is talking-up the 28-year-old in the hope that it will convince him to extend his current contract, which expires in 2010.
"Young Gareth has a heart the size of a lion," O'Neill is quoted as saying by The Daily Mail at a club dinner which Barry had also attended.
"He wants to play every single week and wouldn't take a break if you asked him.
"He doesn't get a break in the season and plays international matches. It is great for him, absolutely fantastic and he is very, very talented."
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