Leeds to recruit Villa youngster for promotion push

Leeds want Aston Villa’s talented young midfield star Barry Bannan to lead their bid for a Premier League return.The 22 year old was part of the Blackpool side that won promotion to the Championship last season and also had a loan spell at Derby County towards the end of the 2008-09 campaign.

This season has seen Bannan’s emergence as a fringe player in the Aston Villa first team with 19 appearances to date. He has also made two appearances for the Scottish National side, with Craig Levein tipping him as a star of the future.

Boss Simon Grayson is keen to take the Scot on loan for the rest of the season after he slipped out of Gerard Houllier’s first-team picture.

Bannan was a big hit and won himself a new contract when Houllier gave his Villa youngsters a chance earlier in the season, but recently he has been pushed out of the side by senior stars.

Now Leeds are keen to land 21-year-old Bannan, who may be allowed to go to the Championship if Villa are knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City tomorrow.

Bannan is hoping for a cup recall but his best chance of playing ­regularly could be with a switch to Elland Road, where Grayson needs quality to secure a second ­successive promotion.