Bannan has been sensational for Villa this season, other than his rather foolish driving incident. His footballing form has been encouraging for both club and country, and it has understandbly stirred interest from other clubs.
Such situations are always flattering for the player, but it is never good for Villa and its supporters because Lerner is an owner that will always sell if the price is right.
Dalglish is the latest manager to show an interest in the Scottish midfielder, with what is a very modest price tag of £10million (double it and you're getting close).
McLeish has stated publicly that Bannan is going nowhere, but he did the same with Judas Downing and we all know what happened there.
Wih Fergie also sniffing around, it would not take a lot of thought to determine which would be the better choice. Liverpool don't look like getting anywhere near Champions League football after a very lacklustre start to this campaign. I say lacklustre when considering how much money they spent in the summer, before any Liverpool fans point out that they are above Villa in the table. We all know that already.
Nevertheless, Kenny is on the prowl and will no doubt pursue Bannan aggressively if he thinks he can get a result (he did with Downing). There was no respect shown last time Downing was declared not for sale, and he was right to take no notice because Lerner was trying to drive the price up.
As a Villa supporter, I would hope that on this occasion the club actually does stand firm and refuses to sell Bannan because he is a proper star in the making. Bannan could also look at Downing and realise that the grass would not necessarily be greener on the other side of the fence.
(Follow me on Twitter @MattLeCameron).