John

Not as far as I can see. But it looks more likely than not.

I disagree. Any player that feels he will be a bit part player at Man City when they are in for him shouldn't even be in the game. He has earned his move and will trust his own ability. He will play and train alongside some of the best players in the world which will only help him improve as a player. He will also test himself against the best players in the world. Had he turned this move down I would have personally thought they guy not only had no balls and ambition but had also lost the plot. I said previously that if they came in for him he was gone. But I didn't expect the 8M clause to be true. I admit that surprised me. But the naivety shown by fans to suggest he would turn down a move to Man City surprised me even more. Also before you point to Rodwell and Sinclair, no way were that at the level Delph is at. They were both every poor Mancini signings and many said it at the time, Delph is now an established England International!! We're speculating over motives, of course, so you're welcome to that interpretation. And we will certainly see how it turns out. The one part here that I take issue with, is the part about ambition. Him staying here would not at all be a knock on his ambition. There many great things he can do for this club that, in many ways, are more ambitious. Further, if he plays in, say, 20 games next year, will the move be proof of his ambition? If it ends with trophies I would say so. When he is an old man and showing his kids his medals I doubt he will say I wish I only had tales of my relegation battles for you instead kids. But how many of those games that led to a trophy will he have started? It could also be that his children might ask him: - I thought you had told the Villa fans you were staying just before your left so is it OK for us to be economical with the truth as well? - You were an England regular when you played for Villa what happened after that?

So it seems that Sky Bet suspended betting, The Daily Mail (a paper that many said this week is not too reliable with its transfer rumours) took it from this that a deal was done and The Evening Mail, SKY & BBC Radio WM ran with the story. It does not look good does it? But I will wait to see Delph pictured in Manchester waving a Citeh shirt or to hear him or either club say that a deal is close or has been done before I am 100% sure he is a Villa captain who has put money before loyalty to "his" club and his England place. Prove us all wrong again Fab as you did by not choosing to walk away for nothing during this window. Set an example to those coming to the club and to those who like you might have a choice to make on staying or leaving during this window. Do the right thing or face the wrath of those fans you will leave behind despite those recent assurances you gave them.

Just signed a new contract and is now their club captain I believe? So could it be that we were watching Rooney (Adam rather than Wayne) if not a Shkendija player?

Best of luck @ Eibar Tony Moon. We could have done with a goal like that one against Arsenal at Wembley!

Andy Gray just said on Talk Sport "always thought 4 year deal signed with a release deal... I don't want to see him become a player who plays every 2 or 3 games...if he is going to sit on his backside he should think again".

So who do we think we should replace him with? Heaton has signed a new contract at Burnley and it seems Begovic may prefer to spend next season sitting on a bench rather than playing. So could it be Button from Brentford?

Shay did a lot to get us to Wembley. If he goes I wish him the best with both club and country. If he does leave we will need to replace him without delay.

Sounds like Micah has warned Fab of the dangers of the move he is/was clearly pondering so the ball is in now in his court. He can either stay with us and keep his England place or sit on a bench for most of the season and at best do the same for England. I doubt if he is even their first or even second midfield target for this window which should tell him something.

Given how frequently it has been mentioned that we have granted exclusivity if we have not we should really have denied that we have because the rumour might well have put off potential buyers. I really hope that our custodian has already found a suitable replacement for both him and us but the situation looks increasingly like last summer and nothing may be happening behind the scenes on a sale after all

If the club should hold out for £32.5m and I agree 100% that they should why should Benteke handing in a transfer request see us accepting £25m? The fee was, is and will be for the rest of this window £32.5m. If Liverpool, Benteke or his agent do not like that then so be it!

That's true, but hasn't he only got one year on his contract? If they don't play him they might just sell, no point losing him for free. Such a shame he's not going to get a chance, Jose isn't much a gambler, not when there's a league to be won. So are Amavi and Praet but a lot of people are excited about that. The only way we wiłl progress as a club is to take risks on highly rated young players as we can't take them when they are developed. Need to become a breeding ground where if we have £10 mill to spend on someone highly rated they will join us instead of a big boy as they know that in two years time they will get that opportunity anyway while also having had a pay rose and gained some experience by joining us. Easier said than done and money has to be there but if opportunities arise where we can show some balls then we should do so. Gueye and Austin would be the next bracket up in terms of experience and I hope Sjerwood again has the balls to trump everyone like he seems to have done with Gueye. Although I agree with you concerning the type/quality of player we should be looking to bring in now I would hope that in 2 years time we will have improved enough for some if not all of those players to want to stick around and to be able to bring in a couple of "developed" players to add to those within the next 2 years. Otherwise we would become a feeder club as your second paragraph suggests rather than aim to become a "big boy" which should be the aim of a great club like ours. We are Aston Villa after all and if we are not happy about the prospect of Benteke or Delph moving now why should we feel any differently about selling off the family jewels in 2 years time?

Well done on giving your winnings to Acorns Tim.

Talk Sport have mentioned a link to Wilson but his having said he would rather stay where he is. I wish Benteke would react in the same way to the link to him leaving Villa!

Thought the deal to Chelsea was nearly done for 8m? Can't understand a keeper wanting to sit on the bench only for money, surely coming to Villa as number 1 and a healthy wage would be a lot more appealing. You would think the prospect of playing rather than sitting on a bench would swing it but I guess there are thousands of reasons (in the shape of pound coins) as to why he might prefer to move to the bright lights of London.

This reminds me of how sure the press and many of us were that he would go to Spurs before he signed his last contract because they refused to meet our valuation. I hope the same happens this time.

I think the general assumption was that he had reduced the price to £150m. If he has not or has since raised the price then that might explain why WBA may get sold @ £150m and any sale for us may not go through. If he has changed his mind about selling and will now provide the backing we need then fair enough but if he has not and is looking to continue with a bottom 6 investment policy to bring in some of the money he would lose in selling @ £150m then we he would do so at the risk of relegation despite the efforts of Tim, Fox, the players and Butch. I doubt that our current custodian wants to continue in that position but if he does and no new owner is likely then he needs to put a positive spin on that decision sooner rather than later.

No you have not. I think it is just that the nearer we come to the players returning for pre-season the more likely it seems that Ron will be among them given he has yet to find another club that he would rather play for.

If Delph does go it will be a decision that is determined by earning more money and getting the odd medal as a squad member versus the threat to his England place/the risk of spending a large part of next season sitting on the bench/losing credibility given what he said when signing a new contract a few months ago.

Someone on TalkSport today said (and we all know how reliable they are ) that the deal was done but would not be final until mid July when the work permit situation was sorted. I hope for once they are right!

Different types of players and we all have our own opinions but Townsend was a very good player and that has to be taken into account!

This is all about opinions and every one of us know who we prefer. Those of us that have been watching Villa for a very long time have a wider range of players to choose from. Charles would not have been my choice but he was a contender I was also spoilt by having seen John Gidman grace the Villa Park turf what a player!

You might well be right. Or could it be the meeting has been called so the staff are told at exactly the same time that it becomes known to everyone else? I would like to think that it is 50/50.

He wouldn't be allowed at Bodymoor Heath as he's no longer an employee of the club! I am 100% sure that he would get through the gates at BH. It could be that he has had no offers from bigger clubs than us (only offers from the likes of Liverpool). Given that he might yet spend another season with us (I doubt the contract he was offered by us expired on 1/7) and if he turns up wanting to play for us next season I do not think Tim would have a problem with that. . .

I have to say that if as it seems the price for Villa was similar to the one for WBA then we were the better deal by some distance. If someone has agreed to buy us then they should also be the pick of any potential investors that there were. If we remain unsold and WBA have new owners in place by the end of August then I think the club may have some explaining to do.