Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill may have to wait until next summer before undertaking a major spending spree as he played down speculation linking him with a move for striker Henrik Larsson.

O'Neill is expected to be given a sizeable budget by new Villa owner Randy Lerner for the January transfer window but is uncertain whether most of his potential targets will be available then.

He is likely to make another attempt to sign Newcastle winger James Milner after the collapse of a £4 million deal in August but may have to put other potential deals on hold until the end of the campaign.

O'Neill said: "I think we know if we can try and keep going until January, there is every possibility that we should be able to do something in terms of signings. I am hoping we will be able to do something.

"We had the possibility of young Milner coming in and nothing has changed much since then so I assume that money is still available.

"Whether you are talking about the same players or not, I don't know.

"But in any case is January the best time to try and improve your team? Some of the players you might want might still be involved in European football with their clubs and won't be available."

O'Neill says he has not spoken with former Celtic striker Larsson about a possible move to Villa.

The Irishman worked with Larsson at Parkhead before his move to Barcelona and then his current club Helsingborgs in his native Sweden.

O'Neill said: "Henrik is a very fine player but, if you are asking me have I been in touch with Henrik recently, the answer is no. That's genuine.

"I was in touch just to talk about the European Cup final (with Barcelona) but that was some time ago."

Nevertheless, O'Neill believes Larsson would still be a potent force if he moved to the Barclays Premiership.

He said: "It is only in May that Henrik came on against Arsenal for Barcelona and helped to change the Champions League final.

"That is only four or five months ago and I can't imagine for one minute he has lost his sparkle and fitness in that space of time."  PA