UPDATE: According to Birmingham's official website, the deal has been completed. Gardner has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the club.

January 22nd, 2010 According to Birmingham's official website, Birmingham have agreed to pay £3million for Craig Gardner.

According to Sky Sports News, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill ruled out loaning defender Curtis Davies to Celtic. O'Neill said,

"I wouldn't be in a position to be wanting to loan players out at this stage ... The reason being, of course, is that if you do it internationally between two countries - and Celtic and ourselves would be that - you'd have to do it for the whole of the season.

UPDATE: According to the Glasgow Evening Times, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill denied the rumor. He said,

"I don't know if players are at football games but the other part I can definitely comment on ... I was quite surprised to see the story that he is signing for us .

UPDATE: According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham are close to a deal for Craig Gardner. However it is reported that the two clubs are having a tough time agreeing on "add-on payments."

January 15th, 2010 According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham have made a bid of £3million for Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner that was rejected.

According to Steve Garland at Cardiff City's official website, Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd is happy at the club despite rumored interest from Aston Villa. Bothroyd said,

"Obviously you are flattered when you get linked with other clubs, especially of the likes of Aston Villa, but I am fully committed to Cardiff and just want to concentrate on doing well for them.

According to the Birmingham Mail, Lincoln City would like to extend the loan deal of Aston Villa defender Nathan Baker. Baker's current loan deal is set to expire this week.

UPDATE: According to the Hull Daily Mail, Hull City boss Phil Brown confirmed that he is interested in Manchester City winger Vladimir Weiss.

It is also reported that Hull City are not going after Derby winger Kris Commons and Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker.

According to Pa Sports at MirrorFootball, West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola is targeting a striker this month to replace the injured Guillermo Franco. Several names mentioned are: Nuno Gomes, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Marlon Harewood, and James Beattie.

According to Mathew Kendrick at the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa will not be signing anybody new this month. Boss Martin O'Neill said,

"Players generally these days know before managers and if there is someone adamant about leaving, then I'd have to take that as I find it.

UPDATE: According to ESPN Soccernet, Glasgow Rangers offered striker Kris Boyd a new deal as his current deal is set to expire after the season.

January 6th, 2010 According to Matthew Kendrick at the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Glasgow Rangers striker Kris Boyd.

UPDATE: According to James Nursey at MirrorFootball, Wolverhampton are considered the favorites to sign Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner.

January 3rd, 2010 According to Arindam Rej at the Daily Mail, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill would like to keep midfielder Craig Gardner but realizes that it might not be possible.

According to Elliot Ball at Sky Sports News, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is not interested in signing Tottenham striker Robbie Keane. O'Neill said,

"I see us linked with players and some of our players are being linked with other clubs but at this minute I have nothing to report .

According to the Hull Daily Mail, Hull City and West Ham United are both interested in Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood, who has played on loan at Newcastle. Both are interested in signing Harewood on loan although it is reported that he could be bought for around £250,000.

According to Matthew Kendrick at the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Glasgow Rangers striker Kris Boyd. Boyd's current deal with the club is set to expire in the summer and could be acquired for as low as £1.5million.

According to Aston Villa's official website, Aston Villa striker Andreas Weimann has signed a contract extension with the club that will keep him there until June, 2012.

Weimann is currently the leading scorer for the Reserve squad with five goals.

According to John Curtis at The Independent, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill does not want to sell striker Emile Heskey, who has been linked with Liverpool. O'Neill told Press Association Sport:

"After the Blackburn game on Saturday, someone asked me about Heskey, a hypothetical question about 'What if Emile wanted to go?

UPDATE: According to Arindam Rej at the Daily Mail, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill would like to keep midfielder Craig Gardner but realizes that it might not be possible. O'Neill said,

"A number have enquired but there's been nothing definite.

According to Aston Villa's official website, Aston Villa have extended the loan deal of Nicky Shorey with Nottingham Forest until January 26 and Isaiah Osbourne with Middlesbrough until February 5.

According to Sky Sports News, Birmingham and Wolverhampton are both interested in Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner. It is reported that Gardner could leave the club for around £3million.

According to the Birmingham Mail, Nottingham Forest are hoping to extend the loan deal of Aston Villa defender Nicky Shorey. Forest boss Billy Davies said,

"With regard to him (Shorey) I am waiting to find out what is happening, but we are hoping to extend the loan .

According to the Daily Mail, Real Zaragoza are willing to sell winger Jermaine Pennant to Aston Villa as they are looking to trim their payroll.

According to Mark Douglas at The Journal, Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood would like to stay at Newcastle on loan or permanently. Harewood said,

"I don't know what's going to happen, no-one has told me anything yet. Players don't really get involved in that – you never really know until it actually happens so I'll just have to wait and see now.

According to Andy Dunn at News of the World, Stoke City boss Tony Pulis is looking to sign a new striker to replace James Beattie and has been looking at Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), and Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland).

Simon Jones at the Daily Mail prepared a transfer guide of every team for the upcoming transfer window. The article lists what each club needs, who they will buy, and their likely budget. This is a great read for all you fans out there.

UPDATE: According to Mat Kendrick at the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar is happy at Aston Villa and not interested in a move to Real Madrid. He said,

"It's a great honour to be linked with teams of that stature .

According to John Cross at MirrorFootball, Real Madrid are considering making a move for Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. However it is reported that the club may wait until the summer to try and sign him.

The club is also linked with Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar.

According to MirrorFootball, West Bromwich Albion are not selling midfielder Graham Dorrans. Dorrans has been linked with Aston Villa, Birmingham, Everton, Stoke City, and Sunderland over the past few months.

According to Harry Pratt at the Daily Star, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill does not plan on signing anybody this January unless somebody leaves the club. O'Neill said,

"At this minute, I wouldn't see us being active in bringing players in over January .

According to the Daily Mail, Aston Villa have handed a trial to West Bromwich's 22-year-old footballer Graham Dorrans.

According to MirrorFootball, Free State Stars defender Jonathan Mensah is drawing interest from Tottenham and Aston Villa. The 19-year-old defender from Ghana is valued at around £2.5million.

According to Alan Nixon at MirrorFootball, Aston Villa plan on offering defender Shane Lowry a new deal. Then Aston Villa plan on loaning the defender out as Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield United are both interested in Lowry.

According to Kent Hedlundh at Sky Sports News, the agent of Aston Villa striker John Carew admitted that his client is not leaving in January, but maybe the summer. Per A Flod told Dagbladet,

"Something will happen during the summer of 2010, either an extension or a transfer .

UPDATE: According to the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa have denied the rumor that they are interested in Real Zaragoza winger Jermaine Pennant. A statement was made saying,

"The club have moved to deny newspaper claims they are set to move for Jermaine Pennant.

UPDATE: Want to know how much your club spent on agent fees in 2009? We have created a new page located under Site Features in the sidebar that lists every club and what they spent. You can also click here to view the page.

November 30th, 2009 According to ESPN Soccernet, the 20 English Premier League teams combined to spend £70.

According to Adam Marshall at News of the World, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is looking into making a move for Real Zaragoza winger Jermaine Pennant.

According to Pa Sports at MirrorFootball, Nottingham Forest boss Billy Davies would like to permanently sign Aston Villa defender Nicky Shorey. Davies said,

"We've signed him for 28 days and after that point we'll try and sit down and negotiate with Aston Villa with regards to extending the loan or, fingers crossed, trying to conclude a permanent deal.

According to MirrorFootball, Wolverhampton are planning to make a move for Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner, who is valued at around £3million.

EPLTransferRumors.com Q&A Session

According to MirrorFootball, Blackpool beat the deadline and signed Aston Villa midfielder Barry Bannan on loan until January 30th.

According to Sky Sports News, Aston Villa have agreed to loan out Nicky Shorey to Nottingham Forest until the end of december.