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Marc Albrighton is poised to leave Aston Villa this summer with the claret and blues reluctant to match a better offer from a rival Premier League club.

Albrighton is out of contract at the end of next month and although Villa would like to keep him, they face being gazumped by a top-flight foe.

It is believed another Premier League club are prepared to give the 24-year-old winger a longer, more lucrative contract than Villa can offer.

Albrighton will be available on a free transfer when his deal expires and Leicester, Everton and Sunderland have been monitoring his situation.

The Bodymoor Heath academy graduate was Villa’s most consistent player late last season after returning from a loan spell at Wigan with a point to prove.

It comes as Paul Lambert re-iterated his desire to bring in proven Premier League players despite the uncertainty surrounding the club’s future.

Lambert has been given the go ahead to continue as Villa manager after jetting to the United States to meet chairman Randy Lerner late last week.

The 44-year-old Glaswegian admits Lerner publicly placing the club on the market gives him an even bigger challenge in terms of player recruitment.

Lambert stands by his belief Villa need better a better calibre of footballer, but cannot say with any certainty that sufficient funds will be made available.

“I know the club needs better quality, proven footballers,” said Lambert.

“That goes without saying. It’s a club that should be up in that top half anyway. The name Aston Villa itself will make people want to come to it.

“Okay the uncertainty is, ‘who is going to be the chairman or whatever the case may be’, but that won’t stop people from coming.”

Asked if Lerner would be prepared to finance better players, even though he is selling the club, Lambert replied: “You’ll still have to work within the circumstances that have been set to you.”

Pushed on whether that meant more or less money than last season, Lambert suggested his transfer targets would be considered on a case by case basis.

“That’s something that we’ll go through in time, what will happen on that side of it.

“I’ll identify players that I think will come in here, but this football club needs strong players to carry it through.

“You’re going to go and try, that’s for sure. I think that will happen as time goes on. If I see one and think he’ll come in and do it then I’ll go and try and see if we can do it.”

When pressed on the topic of Villa’s playing budget for the summer, Lambert insisted the biggest indicator was the fact the club is on the market.

He added: “I prefer to go to Harrods. I want it, it needs it. It’s not my money. I think people have to remember the club’s up for sale, that’s the big answer.”

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