Aston Villa are preparing a £9 million bid for Newcastle United winger James Milner. The former Leeds man has been targeted by Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez all summer but it now looks as though Martin O’Neill is to chance his luck by making a bid for the England under-21 international.

Milner, 22, had a brief spell at Villa Park two seasons ago and was close to a £4 million permanent move then, but for whatever reasons nothing materialised. Newcastle are looking to bring in new players, not lose them but it is widely thought that they must sell before they can think of buying so Kevin Keegan may have to let go of Milner.

I would be very surprised if Villa were the only team to make a bid for James. He is a terrific winger who I feel would be a great acquisition for several sides in the Premier League but not Liverpool. I feel the appeal of European football could force Milner to leave Newcastle and join Villa.

Is Milner good enough for your team? Join the Daily Mirror’s, You the Manager (through the link at the top) and sign the highly rated youngster for just £4.5 million. What a bargain!

Tottenham are to step up their efforts for Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute as the club prepares itself for the departure of Dimitar Berbatov. The former Spurs fan favourite has been linked with a return to White Hart Lane on numerous occasions after Juande Ramos arrived in North London.

Kanoute, 30, has had three very successful years at Sevilla, winning two UEFA Cups in the process. He has scored an impressive 70 goals in just under 140 games at the Spanish giants. The Mali international is thought to be interested in a return to Spurs and Ramos is keen to bring him back at all costs.

Kanoute moving back to Spurs would certainly help to ease pain of Berbatov departing. There is no doubt Spurs need to bring in one or two strikers after Robbie Keane departed for Liverpool last month so Kanoute and maybe, Arshavin to arrive in the next few weeks, that would be good.

After arranging a press conference for 5 pm today, many people had hoped that Chelsea were to announce a new signing, like Robinho and Kaka. Chelsea claimed their was a major announcement, a press conference not to be missed but in truth it was just another contract signed by a overpaid Premier League star.

Frank Lampard signed a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge, which should see the former West Ham star remain at the club for the remainder of his playing days. He had been linked with a summer move to Inter Milan, but Chelsea persistence to hold onto the England international eventually proved decisive.

I personally don’t believe a player signing a new deal at a club is a major announcement. It happens every day. Lampard is, in my opinion well overpaid and at 30 is coming to end of his best years in his career. I think Chelsea should of cashed in on Lampard while they could. I know they don’t really need the money with Mr Abramovich at the helm but still they have an abundance of midfielders who I personally are as good as, if not, better than Lampard.

Deco, Ballack and Essien are all quality midfield players who are more than capable of filling Lampard’s position. Lampard is reportedly on £150,000 which is incredible. If you think about it, that’s a lot of money. Anyway, in conclusion, I got my hopes about the Chelsea press conference only to be incredibly disappointed.

Is Lampard good enough to make it into your team? Join the Daily Mirror’s, You the Manager (through the link at the top) and sign the England midfielder for £8 million. So that’s about a year’s pay for Lamps.