Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood is preparing to lose defender Ron Vlaar this summer.

The Daily Star Sunday says Vlaar, 30, who lost the Villa captaincy last term to Fabian Delph, is out of contract and so far all talks on extending his stay have hit the buffers.

Sherwood would like to keep the experienced central defender but is not prepared to break the bank to do so - especially as Vlaar has been ravaged by injuries for much of the previous two seasons.

West Ham, Sunderland and Everton are all monitoring developments with Vlaar, although a move abroad, with Italy as the destination, is more likely than a Premier League switch.