Aston Villa are set turn their attention to highly-rated Germany Under-21 star Mesut Ozil after refusing to up their bid for Leeds United midfielder Fabian Delph.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill has been left frustrated in his attempts to lure Delph, 19, to Villa Park after the League One club rejected a £6million offer for the Football League Young Player Of The Year last week.

Although the former Celtic manager is keen to add the talented youngster to his ranks following the departure of Gareth Barry to Manchester City last month, he is understood to be unwilling to increase his offer for a player who is still inexperienced at the highest level.

This has led the Ulsterman to consider other alternatives with Werder Bremen's Ozil believed be his top target after impressing at the Weserstadion over the past 12 months.

The 20-year-old is considered by many as the biggest talent to come out of Germany in years and after scoring the winner for Werder in the DFB Pokal Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen at the end of last season.

He enhanced his reputation even further at the recent European Under-21 Championships in Sweden, playing an influential role as Germany stormed to the title, thrashing England 4-0 in the final.

According to the News of the World, O'Neill has been hugely impressed by the playmaker and is said to be preparing a £12million offer in the hope of convincing Werder to part with their prized No.11 - while the same report suggests that Ozil is read to turn down a new contract in a bid to force through a move to the Premier League.