Martin O'Neill this morning took the unusual step of dismissing widespread reports claiming Villa have made a move for Valencia's £5m-rated striker Nikola Zigic.

The Villa boss normally refuses to be drawn on individual links but was moved to comment after Valencia sporting director Juan Sanchez was widely quoted saying a deal was in the offing.

O'Neill told www.avfc.co.uk: "There's not a grain of truth in the story that we've put in an offer for the player and I don't know where it's coming from. I don't even know the player's agent.

"I wouldn't normally comment but there have been so many stories claiming this as fact and people have been quoted. They're completely wide of the mark. So I felt I had to put the record straight."

Stay tuned to www.avfc.co.uk for all the real transfer news.