Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has admitted that he tried to sign Fabian Delph when he was in charge of Tottenham Hotspur.

Delph recently agreed a new long-term contract to stay with the Villans, but Sherwood has revealed that he wanted to lure the England international to White Hart Lane last season.

He is quoted by the Birmingham Mail as saying: "He was certainly on my list. I remember bumping into his agent in London, telling him I'd like to take him to Tottenham if I was still there.

"Obviously that wasn't to be and Fabian decided to sign here, so in the end I did got to manage him.

"I tried my best with Fabian. I really tried my best. I think there was a place for him there where he could have slotted in either side of Ryan Mason and Nabil Benteleb. He'd cost too much money now, but he would have been a bargain then."

Delph joined Villa from Leeds United in 2009.