Aston Villa Football Club News

• Nickname:The Villains
• Founded:1874
• Manager:Alex McLeish

• Ground:Villa Park
• Capacity:42,584

O'Neill slams Koumas talk

08 Jul 2007 - 15:39:33

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Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has rubbished reports suggesting he was willing to use Gary Cahill and Isaiah Osbourne as bait in a deal to land Jason Koumas.

Defender Cahill and midfielder Osbourne had been mentioned as possible makeweights in a move for the West Bromwich Albion playmaker.

Both had also been mentioned as possible candidates for season-long loan moves to the Championship club next season.

However, O'Neill is not willing to allow either of two of his promising young assets to leave in a bid to land the Wales international from Villa's local rivals.

"It's absolute nonsense to suggest that and I have absolutely no idea where this story came from," he told the club's official website.

Osbourne, 19, made 13 first-team appearances last season before a groin injury ruled him out of the closing stages of the campaign.

Cahill made 21 appearances last term despite missing the first three months of the season with a knee injury.