Aston Villa are prepared to match bids from Liverpool in an attempt to beat their Premiership rivals to the signing of Preston and Ireland defender Sean St Ledger
Villa scouts have watched the Ireland international regularly while Liverpool assistant boss Sammy Lee has also been keeping a close eye on the progress of 25 year old StLedger over the past month.
St Ledger has recaptured his form and fitness after a difficult past 18 months where he saw a move to Middlesbrough collapse and tentative inquiries from Celtic come to nothing.
However, Preston are struggling to shed their debts and will be willing to listen to offers in January with an asking price of around £4million.
Villa manager Gerard Houllier knows he has an advantage over his former club Liverpool as St Ledger is a Villa fan and has partnered Richard Dunne at international level.
Houllier said: 'If we spot a good international player who can add something, we'll take him. We will have one or two coming in January.'
Tweet
