Aston Villa are attempting to avoid paying compensation to Norwich City for manager Paul Lambert.

The Daily Mail says Villa believe they have a case due to a clause in the Scot's contract, which states he is allowed to talk to any other interested parties in the Premier League if the Norfolk club are approached.

As he was denied that permission he resigned and, as such, Villa claim that Norwich were the first to breach the terms of the deal.

In their last set of accounts, Villa revealed they had spent £12million on payments to their former bosses, including monies to Martin O'Neill and Gerard Houllier, and to Birmingham to sign Alex McLeish.

However, that figure has since risen as it did not include the £2m paid to McLeish himself last month.