ALBION say they have no regrets about the Gareth Barry deal, even though it could end up costing them another £200,000.

The Aston Villa defender looks certain to make his England debut soon after coach Kevin Keegan hailed the 18-year-old from Hastings as "the best young player I have seen this season."

Villa boss John Gregory has revealed that Barry has been promised the chance to become part of the England senior set-up.

He said: "We expect Gareth to play in the England team in the build-up to Euro 2000.

"There are four matches (starting with the visit of Argentina to Wembley on February 23) and he is expected to start in one of them."

Both Barry and Villa team-mate Michael Standing, who has yet to make his first team debut, were members of Albion's School of Excellence when they joined Villa two years ago.

Albion had already pocketed £600,000 for the pair when chairman Dick Knight, who is Standing's uncle, agreed a compromise deal with his Villa counterpart Doug Ellis last week.

They have now received another £500,000 to replace the existing transfer package which included a clause guaranteeing Albion an extra £200,000 should Barry play in a competitive international, either in the European Championships or World Cup.

Albion's chief executive Martin Perry said: "We stand by our decision absolutely, we have no regrets whatsover.

"money in our bank account is better than in Aston Villa's and that was the reason for the decision last week.

"It is guaranteed money that we can use effectively rather than hanging on and hoping. You cannot run a business on hope."

Barry has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame since joining Villa as a 16-year-old.

He has already captained England's under-19s and played for the under-21s and is a regular in Villa's Premiership side.

Perry added: "We would be absolutely delighted for Gareth if he is picked, but we still stand by the decision we have made."

After doing a deal with Ellis, Knight said: "I think £500,000 is a very good deal.

"We have given Villa a bit of a discount, but it resolves all of the issues. Hopefully now these boys can get on with their careers without hindrances and we wish them every success."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.