ASTON Villa remain favourites to sign Wigan Athletic's England striker Emile Heskey next month.

An offer in the region of £5m may tempt Wigan chairman Dave Whelan to sell.

Villa made a £6m bid for Heskey earlier in the season. Heskey could see out his Wigan contract and focus his attentions on England's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers.

The Wigan star knows more top performances for his country will increase his market value at the end of the season and would therefore generate greater interest among the top Premier League clubs.

He remains a top target for Villa boss Martin O'Neill, who has designs on a European place.

Chelsea and Liverpool have also been strongly linked with Heskey but they are both prepared to wait until summer before making a move.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan said earlier this week no offers or approaches had been made for Heskey and he will wait to hear from Heskey as to his plans.

If Wigan do decide to sell in January, Bruce will target Colombian international Hugo Rodallega Martinez in a £4m swoop.

Bruce is also keen on Ecuadorian international Cristian Benitez.

Wigan have also been tracking Newcastle's Nicky Butt and Sunderland's Phil Bardsley but Whelan has denied newspaper speculation of interest in Michael Owen.

Whelan made a tentative offer for Owen when he was at Real Madrid but his wage demands are a stumbling block.

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