Aston Villa Transfer Rumor: Liverpool Want To Spend Fernando Torres Cash On Ashley Young

Sources are reporting that Aston Villa have rejected a £12 million bid by Liverpool for Ashley Young, likely using more polite terms than most Villa fans would choose, although the club were probably tempted to tell the Reds exactly where they could shove that bid. Apparently the Villa want £18m for Young, although Gerard Houllier has also promised that the midfielder-cum-forward will not be sold this season.

Chelsea and Liverpool are believed to be hankering over the valuation of Fernando Torres, with various terms such as "£50m" and "Nicolas Anelka" being thrown about. Should the club actually receive such a startling amount of cash for their Spanish wonderboy, they'll have money left over from purchasing Luis Suarez to turn around and hand to Aston Villa.

A few weeks ago, hearing that Young would be sold wouldn't have bothered me, provided AVFC received a nice chunk of change in return. But now he seems an integral part of staying up. Ash is finally coming into his own in the middle, and with the potential of nastiness when he, Stewart Downing and Gabriel Agbonlahor get the switching-positions thing down to a fine science, well, it will be drool-worthy. Add Darren Bent's finishing capabilities and...

I just want to see it. I've come to terms with the possibility of Young leaving in the summer, but for him to leave now, on the last day of January, would cause my heart to crack. Villa are fun again. Don't give me a taste of that and then yank it away again.