Reds deny 'final' Barry bid
02 Jul 2008 - 12:51:08
Liverpool have denied claims that they have made a 'take it or leave it' offer for Gareth Barry, but remain firmly in the hunt for the unsettled Aston Villa captain.
Reports on Tuesday suggested the Reds had tabled a final £17million offer for the England international.
The stories suggested an increasingly frustrated Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had made a £15million plus add-ons offer that would not be increased for the 27-year-old midfielder.
However, Anfield officials insist they remain in ongoing dialogue with their Villa Park counterparts over a transfer saga that has now dragged on since the end of May.
Meanwhile, Barry is due back at the Midlands club on Friday to begin pre-season training after recently publicly criticising manager Martin O'Neill.
Barry and O'Neill became embroiled in a war of words over the weekend when the midfielder accused his manager of a lack of communication over the protracted transfer saga.
But O'Neill hit back at his skipper's criticism and insisted he would only be allowed to leave Villa Park if Liverpool matched his valuation of the player.
He said: "Contrary to what was reported, we desperately want to keep Gareth at Villa Park and he knows that.
"But Liverpool's valuation of Gareth has been consistently well short of our own and at the moment remains so.
"We have made our position clear in respect of Liverpool's interest in the captain of our club, but if Liverpool meet our valuation then Gareth Barry will get his express wish to leave Villa Park."