Chelsea close in on James Milner

The Aston Villa winger James Milner is believed to be close to agreeing to sign for Chelsea.

It was reported that Aston Villa had accepted a £20m bid for the England international, and agreed personal terms with the club last week, but then Man City decided to enter the bidding and put in an increased bid to try and tempt Milner to move north instead.

It is now being reported in the Birmingham area that Milner has decided not to go through with his purchase of a new £20m house in the West Midlands, which has accelerated the belief that he has decided to leave Aston Villa, and the promise of playing Champions League football has tipped the balance in Chelsea’s favour.