John Gregory was last night said to be ready to mount a 'fierce defence' against any allegations of wrongdoing as the Football Association confirmed an investigation into transfers during his reign at Aston Villa.

Gregory was understood to be consulting his lawyers over coverage of the FA inquiry, although he was not making any public comment on legal advice.

The FA's investigation began several months ago and it is likely to be a ''significant period of time'' before any conclusions are announced.

While Villa maintain there are other clubs whose dealings are also being looked at, they are the only ones to have so far confirmed that they have responded to a request from the FA's compliance unit to hand over files.

These relate to some of current Derby boss Gregory's foreign signings at Villa Park in Bosko Balaban, Alpay and £9.5m club record signing Juan Pablo Angel.

Amid suggestions that up to 20 deals are being examined, Villa released a statement, which insisted they had approached the FA with information and maintained the club themselves were not under investigation.

The statement read: ''As a result of stories circulating in the media, Aston Villa and the FA wish the following to be known.

''The Football Association wants to make clear today that Aston Villa is not under investigation.

''In fact, the club instigated its own enquiries earlier in the year as a result of continued rumour regarding a number of transactions, some of which involve players at their club.

''The Football Association's compliance unit is responsible for investigating all such matters.

''Aston Villa approached the FA to share information in order to assist both parties in their obligations and to ensure they discharge their responsibilities to the game. These matters are ongoing and complex.

''Not only is there no suggestion today that Aston Villa Football Club is under investigation, but the club took extra precautions in respect of transfers highlighted in the Press.

''These were conducted via the FA and in full consultation with UEFA and FIFA as appropriate. The FA are grateful that Aston Villa are prepared to champion a campaign to rid the game of any 'bung' culture.''

There was no official response from Gregory, although he was said to be 'furious' at suggestions he may have been involved in any underhand dealings.

The FA were unable to confirm Villa's assertion that other clubs had also been asked to hand information over as part of an overall investigation into transfer dealings.

However, spokesman Adrian Bevington told the FA's website, www.theFA.com: ''We can confirm the FA compliance unit is conducting an investigation into a number of transfers involving Aston Villa Football Club.

''This investigation has been ongoing for several months and we expect it will be a significant period of time before the FA reaches any conclusion.

''At this time, we believe it would be inappropriate to provide further details of any individuals or particular cases being investigated.

''However, we would like to make clear that Aston Villa Football Club has been extremely co-operative since the investigation commenced.''

It is understood that the deal which has created most interest is the £6m splashed out to Dinamo Zagreb to secure the services of Croatian international Balaban, who did not start a single Premiership game for Villa before being loaned back to his former club in the summer.

Balaban, who is having the majority of his wages paid by Villa, turned out to be Gregory's last big-money signing before he quit Villa Park in January and moved to Derby.