Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill will this week attempt to resurrect his attempt to sign West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker.
Villa have made contact with the Hammers and, although no formal bid has been made, are understood to be ready to pay £7million for the England Under-21 captain.
West Ham are looking for a larger offer for the player they bought from Wimbledon for just £500,000 three and a half years ago.
But reports indicating they want £10-12million for Reo-Coker are believed to be wide of the mark, with £8-9million a more realistic figure.
The 23-year-old, who led England to the semi-finals in the European Under-21 Championships in Holland earlier this month, has made it clear his days at Upton Park are numbered.
Villa report back for pre-season training on July 4 and O'Neill is keen to start bringing in new blood sooner rather than later with the war chest promised him by owner Randy Lerner.
He wants time to blend any newcomers in with his current squad after having only two weeks' preparation time last summer following his arrival as David O'Leary's successor in early August.
But the Irishman is aware he could face competition from Manchester City for Reo-Coker if Sven-Goran Eriksson takes charge at Eastlands.
O'Neill has already lost the services of one experienced midfielder in Gavin McCann to Bolton, while there is a question mark over the future of Steven Davis, who has been linked with a move to Fulham alongside former Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez.
Fringe midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba's days at Villa are also numbered, with Benfica reportedly interested in the former Manchester United player, who ended last season on loan at Burnley.
i wanna see reo coker replacing petrov and not davis....