While Rafa Benitez continues his pursuit of midfielder Gareth Barry - with some reports suggesting a deal will finally be concluded this week - a poll here on This Is Anfield shows he may not be the fans choice.

We asked who you would prefer us to sign; Gareth Barry or Valencia winger David Silva. The outcome was in favour of Silva, with 76% of the 2200 votes.

Those results are echoed by a poll conducted in the forums a month ago which asked Should we scrap the Barry deal? 60% said yes, while only 2% believed we should spend £18m on the Villa captain.

Most fans feel the rather high fee for Barry could be better spent elsewhere, here’s a collection of what the fans are saying;

Rafa should be concentrating on a right or left midfield player rather than putting all of his attention on Barry.

I woudn’t pay more than 15m. Even at that price I’d maybe feel we’re robbed, but if Villa want more than that, I think we should move on.

Some fans see Barry’s arrival as being seemingly dependent on Xabi Alonso’s departure and a choice between the two;

I don’t mind him (Barry) being here as an extra option, but not at the expense of Alonso.

While others see Barry being the more proven player domestically;

It’s abundantly clear, that if we prefer the Premiership to the CL, we should play Barry instead of Alonso.

Although, there are some who see the value of Barry;

With Barry you know what you are getting. Silva is an unknown quantity. He might not even like the cold weather.

Pay as little as we can get away with but lets just get on with the deal. Rafa must think Barry will really add something to our team, and complement the system he likes playing so I’m happy to trust that. I’ve never really rated Barry as a top 4 player, but I’ve never really made a point of watching him so I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns out to be top player at liverpool.

At the end of the day it’s about creating the best team rather than the best fantasy footy players and Barry is unfashionable but a better bet in my opinion than Silva, as is Keane over Villa, for us having a real tilt at the premiership this year