England striker Emile Heskey is ready to quit Villa in a bid to salvage his World Cup place.
Heskey, 31, is currently first choice for his country as he regularly lines-up alongside Manchester United sensation Wayne Rooney, but he is currently unable break into the Claret and Blue starting XI.
In-form hit man Gabby Agbonlahor and fans' favourite John Carew are the preferred option for Martin O'Neill, who has only given Heskey 12 starts since the striker moved from Wigan in January.
The former Leicester ace bore the brunt of the blame for Villa's poor form towards the back-end of last season but much of his criticism was probably unjustified.
However, what is not in doubt is his poor goalscoring record as he has netted just twice since joining the club.
Being an ex-Birmingham City player, Heskey was always going to face an uphill battle in order to win over the Claret and Blue faithful and his lack of goals has hardly done him any favours.
And now he feels it is time to move to a club where he is appreciated not only by the supporters but by the manager.
One option could be a switch to Sunderland where Heskey's old boss and long-time admirer Steve Bruce would welcome the burly target man.
Villa will not want to lose anyone when the transfer window re-opens in January but O'Neill is unlikely to want to keep a player against his will and he may decide to reinforce his forward line with a new striker or two.