Manchester United may have spoiled Tom Cleverley

Aston Villa are still working hard to land Tom Cleverley before the transfer window closes, but the move may be dead in the water. Villa had a £8m bid accepted by Manchester United, but needed to agree personal terms with Cleverely before the deadline. Now, it seems the Manchester United midfielder wants £60,000 per week in wages, a sum Villa are reluctant to pay.

Cleverley is believed to have been on around £40,000 per week at United, but it's thought that contract negotiations with his current club had him up to the £60,000 figure. He's now playing hard-to-get, hoping to hold out long enough to land such a wage.

Villa, of course, aren't in a place to be throwing around such sums of money. Since the departure of Martin O'Neill, the club has worked hard to lower the wage bill. Randy Lerner is willing to pay a higher fee for the necessary acquisition of a midfielder -- £2m is about all Villa have been paying recently -- but such wages won't be permitted.

This may be a poor negotitating ploy from Cleverley. He's being handed the chance to revive his career, something that's unlikely to happen under Louis van Gaal, but electing to hold out for high wages could see him stuck at United. Do you think he'll negotiate in time to have the deal go through by the end of the day?