Villa favourites in race to recruit troubled Martins

The future at Newcastle United of Obafemi Martins is once more in doubt with two Premier League clubs Manchester City and Aston Villa having this week made formal inquiries about the 23-year-old Nigeria striker who has endured a troubled season under manager Sam Allardyce.

Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth are also monitoring the situation.

A stumbling block may be the price, because the 13m release clause in Martins' contract, the existence of which The Independent revealed last summer, has still not been removed, although negotiations have taken place with Newcastle, who appear to want to keep him. Villa are thought to be the only club prepared to meet that valuation, although it is understood that Martins would prefer a move to City.

Newcastle were holding talks yesterday to decide what to do about Martins and it will be interesting to see if he features in tomorrow's FA Cup tie away to Stoke City, which would lessen the likelihood of him being transferred. Nigeria coach Berti Vogts has said that Martins can delay meeting up with the rest of the squad for the African Cup of Nations until after next week's league game against Manchester United.

Martins arrived at St James's Park in August 2006, in a 10m move from Internazionale, and is understood to have grown increasingly frustrated under Allardyce and disillusioned by his tactics.

Martins scored 17 goals last season, including 11 in the Premier League, and is Newcastle's top-scorer with six goals so far in this campaign. He reacted angrily to being substituted during the recent away defeat to Chelsea, refusing even to acknowledge Allardyce's out-stretched hand.

Arsenal expressed an interest in Martins last summer, which is believed to have unsettled him, but did not follow it up and are no longer interested.

Villa have shown the firmest interest. Manager Martin O'Neill has made recruiting a striker his priority, and initially hoped to sign Liverpool's Peter Crouch, a move that now appears unlikely. Villa are also interested in Loris Arnaud, a 20-year-old with Paris St-Germain, who is out-of-contract at the end of the season.

Portsmouth want Martins but not at 13m. They see him as a replacement for John Utaka, likely to leave Fratton Park at the end of the season.

Spurs' interest would certainly suggest that they are willing to off-load one or both of Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent. Spurs want to play Martins as a central striker, his preferred role. It is understood that Bent, in particular, is not in head coach Juande Ramos's plans. The chances of Spurs recouping the 16.5m they committed to buying Bent are slim. Defoe is stalling on a new contract.

January Sales: The latest moves in the transfer window

Emanuel Villa: UAG Tecos to Derby, 2million

Sherjill MacDonald: Apeldoorn to West Bromwich, 200,000

Ian Craney: Swansea to Accrington, 85,000

Matthew Pattison: Newcastle United to Norwich, Undisclosed

Jermaine Easter: Wycombe to Plymouth Argyle, Undisclosed

Adam Murray: Macclesfield to Oxford, Undisclosed

Adam Miller: Stevenage to Gillingham, Undisclosed

John Nutter: Stevenage to Gillingham, Undisclosed

Felix Bastians: Nottingham Forest to Notts County, Loan

Ryan Bertrand: Chelsea to Norwich City, Loan

Mo Camara: Derby County to Norwich City, Loan

Jonny Evans: Manchester United to Sunderland, Loan

Neil Kilkenny: Birmingham City to Leeds United, Loan

Shelton Martis: West Brom to Scunthorpe, Loan

Danny Mills: Manchester City to Derby County, Loan

Lee Ridley: Cheltenham to Lincoln City, Loan

Adam Smith: Chesterfield to Lincoln City, Loan

Stanislav Varga: Sunderland to Burnley, Loan

Laczko Zsolt: Olympiakos to Leicester, Loan

Martin Butler: Walsall to Grimsby Town, Free

Martin Brittain: unattached to Walsall, Free

Marcus Holness: Oldham to Rochdale, Free