David Villa gives United and Chelsea green light to take him
-
David Villa gives Manchester United and Chelsea green light to take him to the Premier League
Fly me away: David Villa likes the English Premier League
David Villa is set to spark a bidding war between Manchester United and Chelsea by admitting he is ready to move to the Barclays Premier League.
The Valencia striker has revealed he is a keen follower of English football and explained why he had now changed his views on never leaving Spain.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson would love to sign the 28-year-old and has the funds to launch a £35million raid, but Villa has many admirers.
Chelsea captain John Terry urged Roman Abramovich to sign the Euro 2008 winner in the summer and the Blues could turn to him if they are frustrated in a bid for Sergio Aguero.
Real Madrid and Barcelona also bid for Villa in the summer, but he is now prepared to seek his fortune outside of La Liga.
Super seven: Villa has been in hot form
Explaining why he wouldn't consider a move to England in the summer, he told The Times: 'Quite simply, I rejected the possibility of moving abroad at that moment because my wife was pregnant and it didn't seem right to leave.
'I like the Premier League a lot. It's the league I follow the most along with La Liga and I've got a lot of friends playing there. There are a lot of globally important teams there that play very good football.
'Maybe quite a few years ago, Spanish players were reluctant to leave La Liga for another league, but that's all changed now.
'There are very important players, a showcase of Spanish footballers playing for Premier League clubs, and there are players in other leagues, lesser leagues, as well. I think that the Spanish footballer has changed in this aspect in the last few years.'
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez would love to partner Villa with Fernando Torres up front, but do not have the funds to launch a transfer bid at the moment, while Manchester City's new manager Roberto Mancini may also want to consider a bid.
Villa has always been cautious to offend a club he feels a great debt to, but it is Valencia's financial woes which could signal the end of his career at the club.
The fourth-place side in La Liga are determined to keep hold of their star players till the end of the season, but are then expected to cash in on assets like Villa and David Silva to eat into debts of about £625m.
Villa said: 'I have a duty to Valencia. It's my club: the one that pays my wages and with whom I have a contract.
'This summer, they'll have a look at things, analyse them and in time we'll see what happens.
'All I can do now is stay relaxed, try and score as many goals as possible and have a good a season as possible, as much as with my club as with the national team.
'We're still a long way off from the months of June and July, and when they come around we'll analyse the situation then.'