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BIRMINGHAM - ENGLAND midfielder Gareth Barry on Friday pledged his future to Aston Villa until the end of the season, quashing speculation that he may leave in the January transfer window.
The 27-year-old was the subject of four failed bids from Liverpool in the summer after Villa manager Martin O'Neill placed an 18 million pound (S$42 million) valuation on one of his prized assets.
Barry could buy out the final 12 months of his contract but O'Neill knows a top-four finish in the Premier League may persuade him to remain with the club he has already served for more than 10 years.
'Gareth and myself have had a chat and he wants to put all the speculation aside,' said O'Neill whose team could move into third place in the table with victory over Fulham on Saturday.
'He is going to see it out here until the summer - at least - see where we all are positioned at that time and so any speculation in January will be purely that.
'I couldn't be more pleased. His form is very good. His form for England is very good at the moment.
'I know it is an old cliche but Gareth is really now just concentrating on the footballing aspect of things.
'Sometimes I might not have been completely sure about what might happen in January because it is a window, a time where transfer speculation is rife.
'So I am so pleased Gareth wants to leave it to summer time and I couldn't be more pleased.
'Does that include contract talks? Everything. I also accept in the summer he has got a year to run.
'Any sort of options are open to him. He will be in the driving seat if he continues to perform in the manner he is doing.' -- AFP
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