Aston Villa are lining up an audacious move for Fulham winger Damien Duff, according to the Daily Mirror.

Alex McLeish believes he could land the Republic of Ireland winger for as little as £1.5m with Martin Jol rumoured to be ready to sell several Fulham stalwarts in January. The Villa boss is eager to use Duff’s international team-mates Shay Given and Richard Dunne to sell the prospect of a move to the Midlands to the left winger.

Duff, now 32, has made just seven league starts for Fulham this season and might be tempted to move on in search of more regular first team football. Recent reports have suggested that Jol has upset a number of key players at Craven Cottage, with Bobby Zamora said to be considering his future after falling out with the manager.