Source: Daily_Mail
James Milner's move to Manchester City hits brick wall
Martin O'Neill has hinted that Manchester City may give up on their pursuit of James Milner. The Aston Villa manager has admitted that he will let the England midfielder quit this summer - but only at the right price. Villa are understood to be demanding £30million for Milner, with City reluctant to go beyond £24m. Fight for control: James Milner (right) is wanted by Manchester CityMilner was missing from the side that beat Walsall 2-1 in Tuesday night's friendly match - after which O'Neill spoke on the star's future. He said: 'There is no question that James Milner will continue to give his best if the deal doesn't go through. 'The latest state of play is that Manchester City have gone as far as they want to. We'll wait with baited breath on that one, myself included. Chase: Man City boss Roberto Mancini 'I think the owner puts a price on players. Of course, he will have an idea on the price. Negotiations are being conducted by the Villa chief executive and the owner and I will be guided by them.' Milner will now join up with the Villa squad to fly out to Portugal where they will compete in the Guadiana Cup against Benfica and Feyenoord. O'Neill added: 'James loves playing and last season played when others wouldn't. That is why I have no concern in regard to his character and involvement with Villa.' O'Neill believes the majority of Villa fans would be happy for Milner to remain at the midlands club if his possible move fails to materialise. The Villa boss accepts any player would be affected by offers from big-spending City, but he is confident Milner would be welcomed back with open arms by most supporters if he stays at Villa - in the same way as Gareth Barry two years ago. Barry was then poised to move to Liverpool but instead remained at Villa for another 12 months before switching to Eastlands in a £12m deal. O'Neill said: 'We had a meeting with James on Monday. The word "amicable" was used to describe the meeting and that would be quite right. 'I can understand totally that players would be affected by offers from Manchester City, particularly in this day and age where it looks as if they can get who they want. Preparations: Aston Villa beat Walsall 2-1 on Tuesday night 'Some of us a season or two ago had a wry smile when they were after Kaka and we thought that was just impossible - and now you get the impression that within a month or two, he wouldn't get into their team! 'If you can draw a comparison to Gareth Barry, if it didn't go through, then, of course, he would feel a possible loss for a little while. But at the end of it all, Gareth settled down and played brilliantly for us. 'I think the overwhelming majority of supporters, seeing what James did for us last season, would be delighted if he stayed at the football club.' Milner holds 'amicable' talks with Villa boss O'Neill and joins pre-season tripCity on alert as Benfica tell Chelsea to improve £27m bid for defender LuizASTON VILLA FC