John Percy is the person I would trust on this story. He is always bang on with these stories, and he says that Villa are set to sign him with no mention of us having a bid yet. He also says Villa are interested in Praet from Anderlecht.
"We're short on money, and our recent record in the transfer market is chequered at best. I know, lets do away with own scouting team, and just look to recruit anyone linked with Southampton. They've shown they know what they're doing."
Expect to see a lot of these £10m ish deals for Italian/Spanish league players going off this summer without anyone even blinking. TV money means everyone can afford it.