Are Villa after a former England international?

As a summer that's set to see little spending gets underway for Paul Lambert, his Aston Villa side have been linked with former Manchester City and Chelsea and soon-to-be-former Queens Park Rangers winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. Unfortunately for Villa's plan to sign the 32-year-old former England international, West Ham United are also said to be interested and might be able to offer higher wages.

Wright-Phillips—who moved to Chelsea from Manchester City for £21 million in 2005—has spent much of the last year sitting on the bench at Loftus Road, unable to break into the regular squad for Harry Redknapp's side playing in the promotion playoff on Saturday.

Wright-Phillips is out of contract at the close of the season but would certainly come with a high wage tag. The article suggests West Ham are "confident" of matching Wright-Phillips' salary demands while Villa would likely be hard-pressed to match—he's believed to be on high wages that have made it tough for QPR to offload him in previous windows.

With the spending constraints put on Lambert by Randy Lerner as the club waits for a buyer, it's hard to believe that Lambert could both bring in two high earners on free transfers as both Wright-Phillips and Joleon Lescott (who Villa have been increasingly linked with over the last few days) would likely command wages upwards of £50,000/week.

Additionally, Wright-Phillips said in February that he wants to join younger brother Bradley in the States who plays alongside Thierry Henry for MLS side New York Red Bulls.

With the combination of his wages, the fact that he made 13 appearances for QPR this campaign, and his desire to play alongside his brother in New York, I just don't see this one happening. There's a chance, but I certainly wouldn't call it likely.

What would your feelings be if SWP made the move to B6? Think it's more or less likely than I do? Let us know in the comments!