Doug Ellis applauds Villa for refusal to sell Barry to Liverpool on the cheap

Doug Ellis has backed Aston Villa’s determination not to allow Gareth Barry to sign for Liverpool on the cheap.

The former Villa chairman, who sold  the club to Randy Lerner for £62 million two years ago, believes that £20 million would be a fair asking price for Barry who has fought his way back into the England squad over the last year.

Lerner and Martin O’Neill clearly  agree as Villa have dismissed a fresh bid of around £15 million for Barry from Liverpool.

It is thought O’Neill would consider an offer of around £18  million after the player made it clear this week he wants to go to Merseyside where the lure of Champions League football is waiting.

But Villa are refusing to budge and know that Liverpool must sell Xabi  Alonso to Juventus to  raise cash to fund the Barry deal.

Ellis, now President Emeritus at Villa Park, says O’Neill must get the price he wants for the 27-year-old Barry.

“Right now I wouldn’t sell him for less than £15 million,” he said.

“I fear he will go now as Steven Gerrard has been begging him. But I am proud of the fact that we took a bit of a gamble and paid £500,000 for  him and Michael Standing from Brighton 10 years ago. On the financial side, that  is not a bad deal if he goes for £20 million which is what I think he is worth.

 “If I was advising Liverpool, I would say ‘dig deep’ because he is such a good asset. It will be a big loss and I would fight like hell to keep  him. I made him our highest earner at Villa and he deserved it. Whatever Liverpool  pay, Villa are losing a good player and a good  professional.

 “We all saw his pass for Steven Gerrard against the USA,  it was sublime. And  he now sees Champions League and international football as  where he should be  playing.”