NEWCASTLE midfielder James Milner last night turned his back on the Magpies and urged David O'Leary to secure him a summer move to Aston Villa.

Milner, who is on a season-long loan at Villa Park, is due to return to St James' at the end of the season. But, with the likes of Nolberto Solano and Charles N'Zogbia having leapt ahead of him in the Newcastle pecking order, the England Under-21 international is keen to stay in the Midlands.

Despite sanctioning Milner's departure as part of the £1.5m move that brought Solano back to Tyneside last August, the United board had been hoping to retain the midfielder's services, having shelled out £3.6m to sign him from Leeds in July 2004.

They remain reluctant to part company with a player who has grown in both stature and confidence this season, but would be unwilling to force him to return if his heart was set on a move.

O'Leary held informal discussions with Milner this week.

"Milner wants to stay with me here," said the Irishman, who oversaw the 20-year-old's development during his youth-team days at Leeds. "That is definite.

"He has given me those indications. That is good news for us, because he has done a great job for Aston Villa this season and will only get better and better.

''But it would all be down to Newcastle, and why should Freddy Shepherd do us any favours? We are a business. They are a business. We have got £1.5m sitting there which we got for Solano. We have that as a down payment.

"Maybe a second season on loan could be a possibility. If it means me keeping Milner for another year, instead of losing him, I would be delighted."

More immediately, Milner's priority is to recover from a mystery virus that ruled him out of last weekend's Premiership defeat at Blackburn and Tuesday's FA Cup reverse at Manchester City.

The youngster has been ordered to rest for another week, although O'Leary insists rumours suggesting he is suffering from glandular fever, and thus would be unable to play for the rest of the season, are wide of the mark.

"The medical opinion is to give Milner a week's rest," said the Villa boss. "I have not heard anything about him having glandular fever. The medical people tell me he has a virus."

Meanwhile, Solano last night re-opened a long-running club versus country battle by revealing he would love to make a shock return to the Peruvian national team.

Despite previously announcing his retirement from international football, the appointment of new Peru boss Franco Navarro has led Solano to change his position.

The news will come as a major disappointment to Magpies officials as it re-opens the possibility of the 31-year-old missing a number of games next season as Peru play a succession of friendlies in the build-up to next summer's Copa America.

As previous boss Sir Bobby Robson knows only too well, the stamina-sapping travelling that is involved in repeated trips to South America can prove problematic given the already hectic Premiership schedule.

Robson was involved in a number of heated arguments with Solano during the midfielder's first spell on Tyneside. He eventually banned him from attending a number of friendly games, and the resultant bad blood was a key factor in Solano's eventual move to Villa.

The right winger made a brief return to international football during his spell at Villa Park, only to commit to domestic matters following a blazing row with former Peru boss Freddy Ternero.

Navarro replaced Ternero last month, initially on a short-term basis, and immediately offered Solano an olive branch, citing his experience as a valuable asset to an overwhelmingly youthful squad.

Newcastle officials had been hoping his pleas would fall on deaf ears but, instead, Solano has paved the way for an international recall.

"I'm dying to wear the red and white," said the South American, who has scored three goals in his last three games for the Magpies. "Of course it's something I'd like to do, but I'll have to talk to Franco Navarro first.

"I wish the new manager the best. I know him very well, but I think he should be given the job for longer.

"We cannot go on as we are going at the minute - we need a total change of mentality."

* Caretaker boss Glenn Roeder has rejected an offer from League One strugglers Yeovil to take Newcastle striker Michael Chopra on a month's loan.

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