 Barry has been at Aston Villa for 10 years
|
Martin O'Neill says Gareth Barry has pledged his future to Aston Villa until "at least" the end of the season.
Midfielder Barry, the subject of four failed bids from Liverpool in the off-season, will have one year of his contract left to run from next summer.
O'Neill said: "He is going to see it out here until the summer - at least - and see where we all are positioned.
"So any speculation in January will be purely that. I couldn't be more pleased. His form is very good."
O'Neill will hope a top four finish in the Premier League and Champions League qualification will persuade Barry, 27, to stay.
However, O'Neill admitted that Barry, who has the option to buy out the final 12 months of his contract, could move elsewhere.
 |
606: DEBATE
the good villan
|
O'Neill said: "Any sort of options are open to him. He will be in the driving seat if he continues to perform in the manner he is doing.
"Gareth can buy himself out of his final year. I understand that but it has never been a major issue with the owner of the football club [Randy Lerner].
"There has been no pressure from the owner to cash in. He is happy to hear the news as well that Gareth is staying.
"I know it is an old cliche but Gareth is really now just concentrating on the footballing aspect of things."
England's Barry has been with the Midlands club for 10 years and has been valued at £18m by O'Neill.
Meanwhile, Villa will entertain Fulham on Saturday without striker John Carew, who is out for two weeks with a recurrence of a back problem.
It is hoped surgery will not be required with Norway striker Carew, who has started only two of Villa's last eight games, being carefully monitored by Villa's backroom staff.
"We thought a couple of days' rest would sort it out but X-rays have shown up something and we are hoping that in a couple of weeks it will resolve itself," said O'Neill.
No comments:
Post a Comment