Villa equal Everton's £10m bid for Milner

In an escalation of their transfer activities, Everton yesterday joined Aston Villa in a £10m chase to sign Newcastle's James Milner. It is understood that less than 24 hours after Newcastle released details of the written transfer request Milner submitted nine days ago, David Moyes sanctioned the offer, which was matched by Martin O'Neill at Villa.

But optimism at Goodison Park may be short-lived. Villa's superior economic position means that they are more likely to conclude a transfer with Newcastle as Everton are unlikely to be able to pay as much up front. It is not yet known if Newcastle will sell a popular player but they did not reject his transfer request when it arrived.

Villa's interest in the 22-year-old winger is well-known. Milner was on loan at Villa Park when David O'Leary was manager there, and would have been signed by O'Neill two years ago but for a last-minute hitch when Glenn Roeder was Newcastle manager. Villa reportedly told Newcastle they would pay £9m a few weeks ago. Everton have not been mentioned previously in connection with Milner, and their interest has put Milner and Newcastle in a strong bargaining position.

Milner is prepared to move but would prefer to stay at Newcastle although he does want an improved salary, one that recognises his value to Kevin Keegan's squad. Both Villa and Everton will offer better contracts than the one Milner signed at St James' Park last year. Milner spent part of yesterday signing Newcastle jerseys for fans at an autograph session. That was after he had trained as usual and has been included in Keegan's squad for tomorrow evening's League game at Arsenal.

Having restated his worth in a man-of-the-match performance at Coventry in the League Cup on Tuesday night, Milner is deemed vital by Keegan to his vision of what Newcastle can achieve this season. But Keegan's enthusiasm for Milner is not shared by others in the Newcastle hierarchy, who can probably see a significant profit being made on a player bought when Sir Bobby Robson was Newcastle manager. Milner cost £3.5m from Leeds as a teenager.

There was no official information forthcoming from Newcastle regarding Milner's position yesterday. Nor was there any news on Keegan's scheduled meeting with owner Mike Ashley on Wednesday. There was a suggestion that the meeting had not occurred due to a postponement but it may have taken place over the telephone and it is expected that serious thought will be given to Milner overnight. If he is sold today then Keegan will have grounds to feel frustrated.

Last weekend Keegan said that he hoped for three or four more players to be brought in. Another going out would mean his squad being four or five men short of what it ought to be if Newcastle are to come close to fulfilling Ashley's expectations this season.

Keegan had hoped that Blackburn's Stephen Warnock would join but Rovers have now turned down a third bid – this time of £4m – for the left-sided defensive midfielder.