Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill admits he's had Burnley striker Kyle Lafferty scouted, but has dismissed claims he's preparing a bid for the young Ulsterman.

"I'll tell you how these stories come out - we send scouts to football matches all over the country and suddenly people decide it must be him," O'Neill told the Birmingham Mail.

"People will see our scout's name on the sign-in sheet and they don't even have to see the scout at the game.

"We're covering loads and loads of game and loads of players, as we should do."