Time for Barry to rebuild bridges

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The England midfielder had made it clear at the end of last season that he wanted to make the switch to Anfield and link up with his close friend Steven Gerrard, who was "desperate" for the move to materialise.

But Villa announced on Wednesday night that the 27-year-old will be remaining with the midlands club after Liverpool failed to reach a 5pm deadline to meet their £18million valuation of the player.

Barry - also linked with Arsenal - and his agent are understood to have been part of the agreement involving "all parties."

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez refused to comment on the situation when questioned after his side's friendly against Villarreal in Spain on Wednesday.

Villa, in a statement, said: "Aston Villa can announce that Gareth Barry will be staying with the club following the interest from Liverpool over recent months.

"During discussions in the past few days, a final deadline to conclude this episode was set that all parties were aware of and agreed to. This deadline has now passed and so Gareth will remain with Villa."

O'Neill claimed the announcement brought "closure" to the whole affair and told the club's official website www.avfc.co.uk: "Naturally we're all absolutely delighted that Gareth will be staying at Villa Park and relieved to find a resolution and closure to the saga.

"We had a very positive meeting on Monday when it was agreed between Gareth, his agent (Alex Black), (club owner) Mr (Randy) Lerner and myself that a deadline should be communicated to Liverpool to finally resolve the situation.

"Liverpool were informed and that deadline came and passed. Now we can all look forward to the coming season with relief, anticipation and ambition."