Peterborough United might have been priced out of move for Aston Villa youngster

The PT linked Posh with the 22 year-old midfielder in March as O’Reilly was enjoying an excellent season on loan at League Two side Crewe Alexandra.

O’Reilly started all 46 fourth tier games for ‘The Railwaymen’ and made 50 appearances in total, scoring seven goals and being credited with 11 goal assists, the most in the division. His preferred position is central midfield, but he was mainly used in wide areas by Crewe.

Posh are seeking new midfielders and wingers and O’Reilly’s age and profile made him a perfect fit for the club. It was thought Villa wanted to send him on loan to a higher level club next season, but now there are suggestions they now want to sell a player under contract at Villa until June, 2028.

And the suggested fee is £1 million, a price thought to be well out of Posh’s range even with the £1 million bonus due from Ephron Mason-Clark’s promotion to the Premier League with Coventry City.

Added to that Championship club Portsmouth have shown an interest, along with League One clubs, Bolton Wanderers, Huddersfield Town and Oxford United.

Bolton could be a Championship club next season after reaching the League One play-off final with a 1-0 semi-final second leg win at Bradford City on Thursday night. That completed a 2-0 aggregate win and a place in the May 24 final against Stockport County at Wembley.

O’Reilly was highly rated by former Villa boss Steven Gerrard who included the youngster in four Premier League match-day squads during the 2021-22 campaign, having impressed in front of goal at youth level for the club.