Steve Sidwell’s move to Aston Villa has been agreed subject to a medical [source]. A fee, believed to be around £5 million has been accepted by Chelsea and the deal is expected to be finalised tomorrow.

O’Neill’s first signing of the summer is expected to pave the way for Liverpool to finalise a deal for Gareth Barry. Sidwell then, is expected to slot straight into the Villa midfield in his place and he could offer some decent potential to fantasy managers.

The former Reading man has been predictably restricted in terms of appearances at Chelsea gaining just 10 starts last season in all competitions. He was however a key figure in the Reading side that performed so well in their first Premiership season, making 35 appearances claiming 4 goals and 6 assists along the way. In their promotion year he chipped in with 10 goals in 29 starts. Those stats certainly show promise.

Sidwell is priced at 6.5 in the Fantasy Premier League game. That puts him in the same bracket as Fulham’s Bullard and Portsmouth’s Kranjcar. It’s a similar story in the Telegraph fantasy football, where Sidwell is priced at £3.5 million – again ranking him alongside Bullard as well as his fellow Fulham midfielder, Simon Davies.

If the new Villa man can show promise in the pre-season, then I can see him being seriously considered by many as a decent mid-price option across the fantasy games. Meanwhile, the imminent departure of Barry to Anfield could well have a reverse effect on his fantasy appeal.