Alex McLeish will not have all of Ashley Young’s £20m transfer fee to spend on strengthening Aston Villa squad

EPL : Alex McLeish, Birmingham City- Aston Villa(Getty Images)

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Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish will be unable to spend all of the £20 million the club received from Manchester United for Ashley Young on new players, according to owner Randy Lerner.

McLeish apparently has a number of transfer targets in mind, particularly Ben Foster, Scott Dann and Roger Johnson from his former club Birmingham City, but he is keen to stress that funds are not unlimited.

McLeish told The Daily Express:  “There are targets out there, but we have to trade in a careful manner.

“It’s not about a big pot of gold. It’s about trading carefully for the benefit and future of the club, getting the club to a competitive state.

“We want to get up the league as high as we can and compete in the cup competitions.

I’m not sure that we’ll get all of Young’s transfer fee, but there will be funds available.”

McLeish has also stated that he wishes to assess the current Aston Villa squad before deciding which areas need strengthening with new players, as he appears to be mindful of the talent already present at Villa Park.

McLeish added:  “I’ve not even given that any thought in terms of how many players will be brought in, there will be a term of assessment first.”