Aston Villa manager Ron Atkinson reacted angrily to claims by Liverpool boss Graeme Souness that he made players plus cash offer for England winger John Barnes. Atkinson did admit to making an inquiry but denied that any of the players were involved.
Ron Atkinson said “I did ask about Barnes but there’s no question of Parker and Barrett being part of any deal. Souness in our of order. He shouldn’t have named the players. The last thing we need when we’re going for the title is to have members of our squad unsettled by this sort of thing.”
Souness had claimed that an offer of cash plus two players was made but he had rejected it because Barnes was a very important member of his squad.