Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has vehemently denied the club have agreed a deal with Liverpool to sell Gareth Barry.

Reports suggested the England midfielder was moving closer to completing his protracted move to Anfield after a bitter tug-of-war between the clubs.

O'Neill is holding out for £18million for the midfielder, a price Rafael Benitez is reluctant to pay in a straight cash deal.

Various cash-plus-player deals have been speculated upon but O'Neill insists Liverpool have failed to make a renewed bid in the last week.

The former Celtic boss said in the News of the World: "There is not a grain of truth in this story that the club or Randy Lerner agreed any deal with Liverpool.

"We have waited over a week for them to come back to us and respond to our price for Gareth. They know what it is but their original offer hasn't changed."