Liverpool will sell midfielder Andrei Voronin for around £3m to a club in the Bundesliga to help finance Gareth Barry's move from Aston Villa.

Barry and his agent held talks with Villa manager Martin O'Neill for the first time this summer yesterday.

                  

For sale: Liverpool want to ship midfielder Andrei Voronin to the Bundesliga.

 The England midfielder is understood to have told O'Neill his wish to leave Villa Park to join Anfield, reports The Daily Mirror.

O'Neill is now reluctantly ready to allow his skipper to leave as he does not want the Barry saga to affect his side's preparations to the new season.

Liverpool are also thought to considering offering Villa £16m for Barry plus Irish full-back Steve Finnan, 32, as part of the deal.

The Villans recently rejected a £15million bid from their Barclays Premier League rivals and are thought to be holding out for around £18million.

Barry yesterday blasted his Villa Park boss for failing to attempt to change his mind over a move to Anfield, but O'Neill has vehemently denied that claim.

"The chairman and I were surprised at Gareth's comments," he told The Sun. "Contrary to what he said, we desperately wanted to keep him - and he knows that.

"But if Liverpool meet our valuation, Gareth will get his expressed wish to leave. Until then, he remains an Aston Villa player."

Eurosport - Sun, 29 Jun 12:49:00 2008

Gareth Barry remains desperate to join Liverpool and has blasted Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill for making no effort to keep him.

The England midfielder has made no secret of his desire for the regular Champions League football on offer at Anfield.

But despite his pleas to the Villa hierarchy to allow him to leave, the midlanders have remained entrenched and rejected a reported £15million bid from the Reds earlier this month.

Barry told the News of the World: "My mind's made up, I want to join Liverpool.

"There's no going back, it's time for me to move on. I'm desperate to play Champions League football and that's why I have to leave Villa."

O'Neill has been openly critical of Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez over his pursuit of the Villa skipper.

But despite O'Neill's public posturing, a scornful Barry insists nothing has been done to get him to remain at Villa Park.

"Villa kept saying they wanted me to stay but I have not heard from the manager for weeks," he claimed.

"It's seven weeks now since the season finished but while the gaffer's found time to be a pundit for the BBC at Euro 2008, he hasn't found the time to speak to me.

"Have Villa offered me anything to try to persuade me my future is at Villa Park, not Anfield? Not a thing."