Barry stays at Villa

Aston Villa have issued a statement saying Gareth Barry is staying at Villa Park and will not be joining Liverpool.

Liverpool have been chasing the England international all summer and reports earlier in the day went as far as suggesting that the two clubs had agreed a fee of £17.5million.

However, Villa have now ended all the speculation by insisting that Barry is going nowhere for now and Liverpool have also agreed to call off the chase.

"This evening, Aston Villa can announce that Gareth Barry will be staying with the club following the interest from Liverpool over recent months," the statement read.

"During discussions in the past few days, a final deadline to conclude this episode was set that all parties were aware of and agreed to. This deadline has now passed and so Gareth will remain with Villa."