Villa join Porebnyak chase

Alex McLeish has openly admitted that he has an interest in Fulham striker Pavel Pogrebnyak and may well make a Summer move for the Russia international.

Pogrebnyak, or 'The Pog' as he has become eclectically known among Fulham fans, has impressed so far, adapting well to the English game and scoring five goals in the process. That form hasn't come without acknowledgement from other Premier League sides, though, and Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has already been credited with an interest.

McLeish appears to to have had a stronger look at the player, however, with the former Birmingham City manager claiming that he has enquired about the striker while he was in Germany with VFB Stuttgart.

"He is a player who I've seen and have been in touch with his agent over the past few years trying to sign him but the timing was just not quite right," McLeish told the Birmingham Mail.

"Will the timing be right in the summer?

"I don't want to be in the bad books with Fulham talking about their player.

"He's a player I flirted with in the past - but I shouldn't really be talking about someone else's player.

"I need to be careful what I'm saying here because my players will be reading this. We are lacking a bit of experience and hopefully that is something we can put right."

May the tussle begin.