Villa boss O’Neill steps up hunt for old Bhoy Petrov

NEW Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill is stepping up his efforts to sign Celtic midfielder Stilian Petrov before the Premiership gets underway on August 19.

Petrov has been linked with Villa ever since it became apparent O’Neill would be replacing David O’Leary in the managerial hotseat.

Villa are preparing to make a £5 million (€7.4 million) bid for the Bulgarian international who is earning around £30,000 (€44,000) a week at Parkhead.