Stoke City have slapped a £1million-plus price tag on Glenn Whelan, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper claimed on its transfer live blog on Tuesday morning that the Potters want “at least” £1million for the 33-year-old midfielder.
This comes after Telegraph correspondent John Percy claimed on his personal Twitter account that Villa had an opening bid of £500,000 for Whelan turned down by Stoke.
Meanwhile, the Irish Sun reported that the Birmingham giants were “confident” of landing the Irishman’s signature, after starting talks with his club over a potential summer move for the player.
Whelan was a mainstay in Stoke’s engine room last term, playing 31 league and cup games, helping the side to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League.
He arrived at the bet365 Stadium in January 2008 in a switch from Sheffield Wednesday, and since then he has amassed 276 Premier League appearances for the club.
Whelan started his career at Manchester City, but he failed to break into the first team set up at the club before moving to Hillsborough in 2004.
The 33-year-old has been capped by the Republic of Ireland on 81 occasions, and he captained his nation in the 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with Austria last week.
Villa manager Steve Bruce is looking to bolster his squad ahead of the 2017/18 campaign as they look to push for a return to the Premier League.