Wolves boss Colin Lee believes Aston Villa should now close in to complete the transfer of Republic of Ireland international Robbie Keane.

Lee is resigned to losing Keane and therefore wants a deal done to finance transfer moves of his own, including a bid for Bristol City striker Ade Akinbiyi. Villa are fighting with Leeds and Middlesbrough to capture the signature of the 19 year-old, and are in with a strong shout according to Wolves boss Colin Lee: "I would think Villa have a great chance of signing Robbie if they make a big enough bid. "His main reason for leaving has to be his football and Villa would appeal to Robbie." Keane is rated at £7m and talks are expected to begin when Wolves managing director John Richards returns from holiday today.

Wolves' board of directors are still considering an offer of £6million from Middlesbrough for the 19-year-old forward. But, even with Richards back at work, it could still take some time to thrash out the future of Keane. Wolves head to Sweden for a pre-season tour today and Keane has been named in a 22-strong squad for the trip to Scandinavia. Villa have yet to make a formal offer for Keane, but their interest in the richly-talented teenager is well known to officials at Molineux. The main problem surrounding their interest in Keane is the fact that Villa are not keen to match the £6million valuation that Wolves have placed on Keane. With a firm bid matching that figure already on the table from Middlesbrough, Wolves are unlikely to consider any bids lower than that. Gregory feels that paying £4 million for Keane would be a more realistic figure. Villa head to New York for a four team tournament that will be played between July 23 and 25 and Gregory would like to have all his summer transfer dealings finished by then so he does have some time on his hands to try and come to an agreement with Wolves over Keane.