Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is prepared to pay big for a new signing this January.

"We are not very close at this moment," O'Neill said on Setanta Sports News. "We are looking, we will see if we can add to it, but it is getting back to the point that getting quality at this particular stage is difficult.

"I have said I don't mind paying over the odds if you get value for it in the long term, like Ashley Young two years ago, but it is a difficult market."