Aston Villa have moved to trump Wigan Athletic for Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi.
The Daily Mail says Aston Villa's new manager Alex McLeish needs to find a replacement for Brad Friedel who left for Tottenham and is willing to meet Bolton's demands for a fee rising to £4million.
Al Habsi was on the shortlist of former boss Gerard Houllier to replace the veteran American and McLeish is keen to bring in a few fresh faces in the wake of Ashley Young's exit to Manchester United.
The news will doubtless irk Wigan owner Dave Whelan but he has refused so far to improve his offer, saying: "We have made our offer and we are sitting on the fence at the moment. They are trying to get more money out of us but we have told them straight that we aren't paying any more. It's our final offer - £3m."
