Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has insisted he is confident he can keep hold of Ashley Young and is ready to reject any offer that Real Madrid make.
The Villa winger’s impressive performances this season have led to reports that the Spanish giants are willing to try and snare the 23-year-old.
However, according to setanta.com, the Villa boss has denied having any contact with Madrid and insisted they will receive short shrift even if they were willing to offer £25 million.
“We haven’t had a call from Real Madrid at all. Maybe that’s hardly surprising,” admitted O’Neill.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they did make an inquiry. We are in a position to turn it down if they did make a bid of £25 million.
"I wouldn’t want to be encouraging any bids for any of my players. I think that the players are really enjoying it here.”
The Midlanders are currently on an excellent run and sit fourth in the Premier League, three points above Arsenal.
Yet rather than lose players in the January transfer window, O’Neill insists he is hoping to add to his squad as he aims to bring Champions League football to Villa Park.
“We will be trying to search around to improve the squad,” said the Villa boss. “What we had over the Christmas period wouldn’t be sufficient for us to try and keep going on all fronts.”
Next up for Villa is a trip to the KC Stadium on Tuesday night to face Phil Brown’s Hull City.
Gill Clark, Goal.com
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