Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is chasing Middlesbrough defender David Wheater.

The Sun says O'Neill will ditch Marlon Harewood to help him land Wheater.

The Aston Villa boss is set to allow striker Harewood to move to Middlesbrough as part of an £8million bid for England Under-21 defender Wheater.

O'Neill sees the Boro ace as the perfect replacement for Danish centre-back Martin Laursen, who quit the game last month with a serious knee injury.

Harewood, 29, signed in a £4m move from West Ham in 2007 and will be used as a £2m bargaining tool.