UPDATE -  Aston Villa have agreed to a 5.5 Million Pound transfer with Chelsea FC for the services of Steve Sidwell.

Although Sidwell only made 7 starts in the 2007/08 campaign, O’Neill might have the midfielder in mind for a replacement for what looks like the eventual loss of Gareth Barry.

Anyone else remember David Beckham’s first match with the LA Galaxy?  If you ever question Sidwell’s desire or commitment, Sidwell was the first one to tackle him knowing full well that his ankle was still injured.  Not the smartest tackle at all, but you’ve got to like the fact the 25 year old has the balls to go out there and get stuck in.

According to the Daily Mail, Aston Villa and Martin O’Neill have agreed with Chelsea on a 5 Million Pound fee for former Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell.

After only spending one year at Stamford Bridge, it’s believed that 2.5 Million Pound is going directly to Sidwell as a payout for terminating his contract with the Blues after signing on a free transfer under Jose Mourinho and in hopes of keeping his wages as low as possible since there’s no possible way that Villa could afford the current structure of his Chelsea contract.

image via News1