It was a case of when, rather than if for Aston Villa and their crushing blow has now arrived, with Gareth Barry’s agent confirming that the midfielder wants to sign for Liverpool and experience the delight of finishing fourth in the Premier League rather than sixth.

The Sun reports that the opportunity of playing Champions League football was too good to miss for the England international, who has been reasonably loyal to the Villans throughout his career to date.

Barry’s agent Alex Black said: “Gareth has spoken to Martin since he returned from England’s game in Trinidad and told him how he feels.

“At this stage of his career Gareth wants to be playing Champions League football and believes this is his chance to do it.”

While Aston Villa fans will almost certainly give the player a warm welcome when he returns to Villa Park next season, Reds fans seem a little lukewarm on this player, especially with Gerrard, Mascherano and Alonso already on the books at Anfield. Whether the latter has a future with Liverpool is now unclear, especially as the club needing to balance the books, in order to sign players such as Barry.