Liverpool must decide whether to make a renewed bid for Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry after Martin O’Neill warned he is ready to set a deadline for them to meet his valuation.
Villa boss O’Neill claims he has heard nothing from the Merseyside giants since rejecting a fourth offer for the England midfielder earlier this month.
It is unclear whether Liverpool are waiting for Villa to make the next move or if their interest has cooled, with reports suggesting they cannot afford to buy both Barry and Tottenham skipper Robbie Keane, who is their primary striking target.
O’Neill is demanding £18m for Barry, with Keane likely to cost at least that much.
The impasse has prompted the Villa boss to urge Liverpool to clarify their position.
The former Celtic boss is aware he has to make his own plans for the new campaign and needs to know whether he will have the services of Barry.
Already O’Neill is considering using the 27-year-old in tomorrow’s home Intertoto Cup clash with Odense BK.
But that would not make Barry ineligible to play Champions League football if he eventually moved to Anfield.
O’Neill said: “It’s been unfortunate. We don’t know where we stand at this minute.
“Liverpool have not officially come back to us in any form of writing. It is a really awkward position here at this minute.
“At some stage or other there will have to be a timescale on it because we cannot just keep going on like this.
“We have got our own plans to make - and we shouldn’t be at the behest of Liverpool Football Club.
“We have to pick up the pieces and I could go on for forever and a day talking about it. As I say, we have not heard back from them in an official capacity.”
O’Neill, who is hoping to complete the signing of Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel, is aware of the need to bring in new blood with the start of the Barclays Premier League campaign only three weeks away.
He said: “We’ve lost experienced players like Olof Mellberg and we have to replace them.
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