Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert may hijack Fulham’s bid for Derek Boateng after the latter failed to meet the financial demands of his club Dnipro.Â
The 29-year-old defensive midfielder, a Ghana international, is available to leave FC Dnipro in Ukraine this month.
Boateng has had talks and a medical over a switch to Fulham, pending a work permit, but Villa are considering a late move.
Lambert has admitted he wants a new holding midfielder to protect his leaky defence and has turned down a return to Villa for free-agent Nigel Reo-Coker.
Boateng is currently with the Ghana team in South Africa for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations