Aston Villa's Closer To Sneijder As Inter Struggle To Meet Valuation

Aston Villa have recieved a huge boost in their attempts to sign Real Madrid attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder.

The Dutch international is one of a number of players on the exit list at The Bernabeu as the Spanish giants desperately try to cover some of their massive financial outlay this summer.

Villa's chances of signing the 25-year-old have been raised as the player's agent admitted that Inter were unable to agree a price with Madrid and may now pull the plug on the proposed deal.

"For some time there has been talk of a move to Inter for Sneijder, but the reality is that there is nothing happening. A few days ago I heard from someone of Inter, but the problem is the money required by Real," Sneijder's agent, Soren Lerby, told The Daily Mail.

"Currently, Real Madrid has set the price, so, anyone who wants to buy him should simply satisfy the demands of the club."

Villa themselves may struggle to reach the £21 million asking price but are confident they could get upto £5m knocked off the fee and Lerby believes his client is good value for money.

"The €25m [£21.5m] referred to seems a lot, but Inter president Massimo Moratti has recently asked for €40m [£34m] for Maicon, who despite being the best in his role, is still a full-back."

Reports suggest that Inter may now attempt to sign Yoann Gourcuff from Bordeaux after failing to lure Sneijder to the San Siro.