ASTON VILLA have emerged as strong contenders to sign the Tottenham Hotspur defender Younes Kaboul, despite interest from Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Martin O'Neill is eager to add numbers to his threadbare squad and, with Curtis Davies's achilles-tendon injury leaving the Villa manager with only two recognised central defenders for the start of the new campaign, Kaboul, who endured a difficult first season at Spurs, has been identified as a transfer target.

Sunderland have had a bid accepted for Kaboul, and Portsmouth have also made an offer for the France under-21 international, but Villa Park is the player's most likely destination, according to Harry Redknapp.

"I would like a centre-half," said the Portsmouth manager. "Younes Kaboul wants to come here, but I heard he is going to Villa."

It is believed Tottenham are seeking to recoup close to the €8.8 million they paid Auxerre for Kaboul 12 months ago, a fee well within Villa's reach.

Roy Keane has not, however, given up on the possibility of signing Kaboul after talking to the central defender yesterday.

According to the player's agent, Kaboul has promised Sunderland a decision on a move to the Stadium of Light "within the next 24 hours".

"Younes was very impressed with Roy Keane when he met him, especially with his vision for Sunderland Football Club," said Rudy Raba. "He was also impressed with the city, stadium and facilities, which, to be fair, are second to none. Younes also appreciated the fact that Roy has given him a couple of days to make a decision."

Keane and his players are currently at their training camp in Portugal, where they will face Vitoria de Setubal tonight before heading back to Wearside tomorrow.

Gareth Southgate has promised he will not use Middlesbrough as a "stepping stone". The 37-year-old has spent the last two years learning his trade after being handed the chance to launch his managerial career by chairman Steve Gibson. He admits it has been a voyage of discovery, but he has no plans to cut and run to a bigger club once he has established himself.

"I'm thinking long-term; I'm not using this as a stepping stone for something else," said Southgate. "If I'm here in five years, then brilliant because that means we are doing it right."

Southgate's predecessor Steve McClaren was head-hunted by England but Southgate has set about the task of stamping his own mark on the club he represented as a player.

The former defender insisted in the wake of last season's difficulties, which saw Boro cement their top-flight status on the penultimate weekend of the campaign, that things had to change.

"When the players came back, we wanted to set the tone for how the club is going to run this year and beyond," said Southgate. "I felt that too many times over the first two years of my management I had to compromise principles because we had to make short-term decisions on certain players."

Guardian Service