Manchester City edge ahead in race to sign Liverpool target

It has emerged today that Manchester City are holding talks with Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, after months of speculation over the player's future.

The England international looks certain to leave Villa Park once the transfer window opens on July 1st after admitting back in March that he would leave if they failed to finish in the top four this season.

Barry, 28, was strongly linked with a move to Liverpool last summer, however the Merseyside club failed to meet the £18 million valuation placed on his head by Villa boss Martin O'Neill.

It was understood that Rafa Benitez was keen to make another move for Barry this summer, however with Manchester City now talking to the player a move to Anfield looks unlikely. There is no doubt City can offer Barry whatever wages he wants, however you would have to question Barry's ambition as a footballer.

As a City fan myself, I am obviously hoping that we can become a top four club as soon as possible, but realistically, it will be another two years before we can achieve that and Barry isn't exactly young. If he wanted to achieve things he would obviously have tried to push through a move to Liverpool but I think this proves he is just a little bit greedy, but aren't we all.

It will be fascinating to see how this progresses over the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned to Football Corner for all the latest.

What do you think? Comments below please.

Liverpool should reject any offers which come their way for this man

With the transfer window not open for another month, it is perhaps surprising to see so many big name players already being linked with big money moves and one name that just keeps popping up is Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

The Spanish international has been heavily linked with a move to La Liga giants Real Madrid in recent weeks and months, however Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is insisting Alonso will remain at Anfield.

Speaking just a week ago, Benitez had this to say about the possibility of Alonso moving to Madrid : "Alonso has three years left on his contract and we are really pleased with him, so we do not want to sell."

I'm not surprised Benitez has come out and stated the club do not want to sell the 27-year old because I firmly believe he was their best player last season. Even if Real were to make an offer of £25 million for Alonso, I wouldn't even consider the offer, I would just reject it straight away because I feel he is just so important to the way Liverpool play the game.

OK, you can argue that with the money Liverpool got from Alonso's sale, they could go out and buy Gareth Barry and put a large chunk of the fee towards buying Carlos Tevez, but sorry, Barry isn't half the player Alonso is. What do you think? Comments below please.