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Villa boss Tim Sherwood has earmarked Austin as his first big signing should he lose star striker Christian Benteke.

Austin's 17-goals for relegated Rangers have put him on the brink of an England call-up.

The 25-year-old is expected to be named in Roy Hodgson's squad tomorrow for the games with Ireland and Slovenia.

And Sherwood sees Austin as the proven goalscorer to spearhead his Villa revolution should Benteke head for the exit door.

The £30m-rated Belgian is on Liverpool's radar with a host of other top clubs at home and abroad also expected to make a move.

Sherwood is desperate to hang on to 15-goal Benteke but knows he may be fighting a losing battle.

The player has made no secret of his desire to move to a bigger club and, with Villa up for sale, owner Randy Lerner could well give the green light to cash in.

Sherwood would then hope to persuade the American tycoon to re-invest a big part of the cash from Benteke's sale to bolster his squad.

He could double Austin's £28,000 a week wages without smashing Villa's pay structure and show a hefty profit into the bargain.

The capture of Austin would also appease unrest among fans should terrace favourite Benteke be prised away.

Austin has put all talks of a new contract on hold and has also put holiday plans on the back burner as he anticipates a busy summer.

Newcastle are also keen to land the former Burnley striker.

But a move to the North East is unlikely to appeal, even if the Geordies avoid the drop, given the on and off-field problems are threatening to tear the club apart.

Austin would also prefer to stay down south but without one of the capital's elite clubs coming in for him, Villa would appeal.

He's been one of Rangers' few success stories in a miserable season and has plundered almost half of their entire goal tally.

Only this week QPR director of football Les Ferdinand slapped a £20m price on his head and Villa would struggle to go that high.

But Rangers are in a perilous position as they face possible £58m fine by the Football League over failure to comply with financial fair play rules.