Villa run eye over De Jong

The Villa manager has been lugging his substantial war chest around Europe since the season finished and is now thought to be casting his gaze towards the Dutch international. Hamburg are thought to be ready to offload De Jong after a disappointing campaign which they spent flirting with relegation before a late-season surge saw them finish a respectable seventh in the Bundesliga. However, Hamburg have played down speculation linking the 22-year-old with a move to England, with sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer saying: "We have heard rumours of interest from Villa but at the moment there is no news."