James Milner's transfer to Manchester City is on hold because Stephen Ireland, who is supposed to head to Aston Villa as part of the deal, is demanding a £2million pay-off from City to leave.

GettyImagesStephen Ireland emerged from the City academy

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City and Villa have spent weeks negotiating over an acceptable fee for England midfielder Milner, with cash-rich City refusing to be held to ransom for the player's services.

After settling on an amount believed to be around £16million in cash plus £8million-rated playmaker Ireland, City have now been asked to fork out another £2million as a golden handshake for Ireland.

Reports indicate City officials have no intention of meeting the 23-year-old's demands, but the transfer cannot go ahead without his agreement.