Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Sevilla starlet José �ngel Crespo but will have to dig deep if they want to prise him away from the Andalucian club.
Martin O'Neill is watching the Spanish Under-21 full-back with an eye to launching a bid in the summer and has the financial muscle of Randy Lerner behind him.
Crespo is another outstanding product of the Sevilla youth production line and has attracted admirers since he played in the club's B team.
Monaco have tried and failed to land the 20-year-old before the start of the current campaign, but negotiations were halted after the death of Antonio Puerta.
Sevilla have been delighted with Crespo's rise to prominence and are weighing up offering him an extension to his current contract which runs until 2010.
Any bid will have to be above the market value, as is the norm when dealing with the Spanish side's shrewd president, José Maria del Nido.
But Villa want to establish themselves among the big clubs in the Premier League and their bilionairre owner will release funds as O'Neill demands them.
