CRAIG Bellamy and Aaron Hughes were last night contemplating their future after Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis claimed he had agreed a deal to take the Newcastle pair to Villa Park.

On a day of claim and counter-claim, Ellis revealed he had settled on a fee for the duo, only for Newcastle to hastily issue a statement refuting any suggestion that a deal had been done.

Negotiations between the two parties have been going on for some time and Villa officials clearly feel they have been given the green light to approach the two players.

But, while Hughes travelled to Birmingham last night for talks, both he and Bellamy remain lukewarm about the idea of leaving Tyneside for Villa.

Bellamy, in particular, is ready to hold out in the hope of attracting a more high-profile alternative before the transfer window closes at the end of August.

The striker, who is currently on loan at Celtic, has accepted there is no chance of a reconciliation with Magpies' manager Graeme Souness following his emotive outburst at Arsenal this year.

But, with Celtic, Blackburn and Birmingham reportedly willing to match Newcastle's £6m asking price, Bellamy is willing to wait before making a decision on his future.

The 25-year-old will be going nowhere in the next fortnight as he is due to play in Celtic's SPL title decider with Motherwell this weekend before lining up in the Scottish Cup final against Dundee United seven days later.

His stint in Scotland has been a successful one - his nine goals in 13 starts have helped propel Celtic to the brink of the title - but, while Celtic boss Martin O'Neill would love to keep him at Parkhead, the Glasgow side may struggle to meet his wage demands.

That would open the door for a return to England but, while David O'Leary has wasted no time in declaring his interest, Bellamy is unlikely to view a move to Villa Park with particular relish.

The same is true of Hughes, who had hoped to remain at St James' Park for the three remaining years of his contract.

The Northern Ireland international has played over 250 games for the Magpies since breaking into the first team in 1997 as an 18-year-old.

He was unable to command a regular place in the side last season, with a succession of niggling injuries hampering his progress.

He was recently told he needed a hernia operation but that will wait until his future is decided.

While he has never expressed a desire to leave Newcastle, that future is almost certain to be away from St James' Park.

While Magpies' officials were quick to distance themselves from Ellis' claims of a done deal yesterday, they failed to dampen down suggestions that Souness would be willing to let Hughes go.

Ellis has promised O'Leary he will loosen the purse strings this summer and, after signing Patrik Berger from Portsmouth this week, he had been confident of taking his tally of purchases to three.

The Villa chairman claimed he had held lengthy discussions with his Newcastle counterpart Freddy Shepherd, who was in Lisbon last night as a guest at the UEFA Cup final.

"I have spoken with Freddy Shepherd, the Newcastle chairman, on several occasions in the last 48 hours and last night he accepted our cash offer for both players," said Ellis, yesterday afternoon.

Yet, as soon as the words had left his mouth, an official United statement was directly contradicting his version of events.

"Despite reports to the contrary, Newcastle United have not agreed any fees with Aston Villa over the sale of Craig Bellamy and Aaron Hughes," it said.

"News broke saying the pair were close to completing a move to Villa Park but Newcastle confirm this report is incorrect and say no fees have been agreed with any club."

Nevertheless, with Hughes in Birmingham last night and Bellamy considering his future in Scotland, Villa remain hopeful of completing at least one of the deals by the end of the week.

Newcastle did finalise one exit from St James' Park yesterday as they confirmed that Patrick Kluivert would not be given an extension to his one-year deal.

The former Barcelona and AC Milan striker has returned to Holland to have an operation on his knee before deciding where he will be playing his football next season.

A number of Spanish sides have been monitoring his situation in recent months, while Turkish outfit Fenerbache remain keen to secure his services.

Kluivert scored 13 goals for the Magpies after making a much-heralded move from Spain last summer.

While his ability was never in doubt, his commitment was repeatedly called into question thanks to a series of lacklustre displays.

* Patrick Vieira has pledged his future to Arsenal and insisted this summer would not be dominated by another transfer saga linking him with Real Madrid.

Vieira came close to joining Real last summer, only to change his mind at the last minute, when even Arsene Wenger was expecting him to leave. However, he insists that chapter is now closed as he believes that he can fulfil his ambitions at Highbury - including winning the Champions League.

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