Nigel Reo-Coker, John Carew and Robert Pires were among 10 players released on Friday by Aston Villa. They were joined by the first-team squad members Moustapha Salifou and Isaiah Osbourne, and the youngsters Durrell Berry, Ellis Deeney, Calum Flanagan, Harry Forrester and Arsenio Halfhuid.

Reo-Coker, a former England Under-21s captain, had featured regularly for Villa since signing from West Ham in 2007 but will now be looking for a new club, as will the Norwegian forward Carew, who spent the second half of this season on loan at Stoke.

Pires has been tipped to join his former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry in Major League Soccer in the United States, and the 37-year-old was never likely to extend his original six-month contract.

Reo-Coker moved to Villa Park from West Ham for £8.5million four years ago and captained the side several times during his stay. He featured in 30 Premier League games last season but has now been deemed surplus to requirements.

Carew, 31, joined the club with a genuine European pedigree and finished as Villa's leading goalscorer in three successive seasons before falling down the pecking order.

Pires, the veteran French midfielder, had plenty of Premier League experience with Arsenal and, after training with his former club to regain match fitness, he was offered a short-term deal by the Villa manager and fellow Frenchman Gérard Houllier in November.