JOHN GREGORY, the Aston Villa manager, yesterday conceded defeat in his attempts to persuade Dwight Yorke to sign a new contract and admitted: "We have a year to try and find a replacement for him."
Gregory, who has rejected two bids from Manchester United for Yorke, had offered the Trinidad and Tobago international striker a new, five-year deal. Gregory said, however, that he has failed to persuade Yorke to sign and is aware that he will have to cash in on the club's most-prized asset next summer.
Yorke will then have only one year to run of his present deal and, because of the Bosman ruling, Villa will have to sell him or risk losing him for nothing 12 months later. However, Gregory believes that it will be the glamour clubs on the Continent who will be chasing Yorke, 26, if he comes up with the goods this season.
"He won't sign a new contract. That's it. I don't think I can convince him to sign a new contract and we have 12 months to get a replacement for him," Gregory said. "I genuinely believe that if Yorke has an outstanding season then the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan will be knocking on his door - and they are seriously big clubs with serious money."
