West Ham have reportedly placed an £8 million transfer fee on the head of former England under-21 defender Anton Ferdinand, who is subject to interest from Aston Villa.
Villa manager Martin O'Neill is actively seeking to add another central defender to his squad after losing experienced Sweden international Olof Mellberg to Italian Serie A outfit Juventus at the end of last season.
With Martin Laursen and Zat Knight the only recognised centre-backs left at his disposal, and Curtis Davies likely to be sidelined until October because of a ruptured Achilles, O'Neill has targeted Ferdinand to bolster his defensive options for next term, despite the player's inconsistent form last season which was largely disrupted by a court case - he was cleared of assault charges in November - and several injury problems.
West Ham manager Alan Curbishley has five other centre-halves and would be willing to let Ferdinand leave should a substantial offer be made given the resources he already has at the club, including England international Matthew Upson, Wales duo James Collins and Daniel Gabiddon, and emerging England under-19 youth prospect James Tomkins.
A source close to the east London club said: "West Ham would not be interested in any figure under £8m for Ferdinand. They certainly would not let him go for £6m.
"They don't want Anton to go but his agent (Jeff Watson) has not been in looking for a new contract so something might happen."
Ferdinand, 23, has also recently been linked with a £6m transfer to London rivals Tottenham.
However, he is likely to become the third player to swap Upton Park for the Midlands in the last year, joining former team-mates Nigel Reo-Coker and Marlon Harewood, who both joined forces with O'Neill last summer.
