McLeish poised to take Hutton to Villa in £3m deal

Villa manager Alex McLeish is hoping to bring in two players before the transfer window closes tonight, and Hutton is believed to be his main target. Redknapp insisted yesterday that he did not know if Villa had made a formal bid to lure the player away from White Hart Lane but added: “Alan’s a good player. He’s been away playing for Scotland and [Villa boss] Alex McLeish knows him, so it may well be a possibility I suppose.”

McLeish’s interest in Hutton has been longstanding and he is stepping up his interest in the player after the departure of Young to QPR at the weekend.

Villa are expecting to pay around £3 million for Hutton who has slipped down the pecking order at Tottenham since the emergence of Kyle Walker. It was Walker’s impressive loan spell at Villa last season which helped convince Harry Redknapp he was ready to be a major part of his plans at White Hart Lane.

McLeish, who handed Hutton his Scotland debut in 2007, still wants to bring in the Scot despite the impressive performance of youngster Chris Herd against Wolves at the weekend.

Hutton, 26, emerged from the Rangers youth ranks, growing in strength and confidence with each season at Ibrox and, on the back of some impressive performances in a Scotland shirt, he moved to Tottenham – then managed by Juande Ramos – during the transfer window in January 2008.

However, he has only appeared intermittently during Redknapp’s reign, and spent a spell at Sunderland on loan last year. While Hutton is at the top of his shopping list, McLeish is also looking to sign a creative midfielder after Jean Makoun was allowed to join Olympiacos on a season-long loan. Makoun’s departure has freed up funds for McLeish to try to strengthen in that department and he recognises Villa are short of experienced players.