SOCCER: David O'Leary's future as Aston Villa manager appeared increasingly uncertain last night after it emerged he offered his support to the players who criticised the club's chairman Doug Ellis in a strongly worded statement released on Friday.

According to one of those present at a training-ground meeting of players on Monday, the Villa manager promised to "stand by them" following their unprecedented attack on the chairman. It is a stance that effectively unites O'Leary with the players against Ellis.

O'Leary was summoned to Villa Park at around 5pm yesterday to meet the three-man team that has been set up to conduct an internal inquiry into the episode.

The club has wasted no time in attempting to get to the bottom of the turmoil that has engulfed Villa Park and it is possible that O'Leary could be dismissed within the next 48 hours if evidence is uncovered that the Irishman was involved in the events that led to the players' statement being handed to a local newspaper on Friday afternoon.

His position could be weakened by his allegiance to the players and give Ellis grounds for believing that the Villa manager played a part in the issuing of the statement, something he has continued to deny.

Although there has been general unrest at Villa stemming from the chairman's persistent parsimony across all areas, the players' statement was not released with the backing of the entire first-team squad.

That alone has left several players confused and others curious at O'Leary's decision to offer support to a statement that, in some cases, they knew nothing about. It leaves the Irishman caught in the middle of an internecine struggle that would appear to be pushing him closer to the exit door by the day.

O'Leary could not be contacted last night. He left Villa Park after 15 minutes yesterday evening following brief talks with Steve Stride, Villa's operations director, and two non-executive directors, David Owen and Steven Kind. The manager described the meeting as "cordial" and would not comment further but he must sense that the board have him in their sights.

Villa's suspicion over O'Leary's possible role as the perpetrator of last Friday's statement has led to attempts to access the Irishman's mobile phone record.

Those moves were blocked, however, when Sportmobile, a celebrity phone company, co-owned by the former Villa manager John Gregory, denied the club access to O'Leary's account.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are closing in on the transfer of Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United, with an official announcement possible within 24 hours.

Van Nistelrooy and his agent, Rodger Linse, have been in Madrid to finalise personal terms and the two clubs are trying to reach a compromise over the details of the fee. Linse said last night the deal was "very close to being done" and, if everything goes according to plan, Van Nistelrooy hopes to take his medical examination before the end of the week and sign a three-year deal worth around £4 million a year.

The official announcement has been delayed while the two clubs haggle over his transfer value.

Madrid say they have offered a basic fee of £9 million, with add-ons to come, but that United wanted an initial figure of £12 million. United have said the asking price is significantly higher.

Atletico Madrid say they have no intention of selling Fernando Torres, United's presumed first choice to replace Van Nistelrooy.

"We have not received any offers," the club's president Enrique Cerezo was quoted as saying in the Spanish sports daily Marca. "If Fernando Torres ends up leaving Atletico it will be because he wants to, because we have no intention of selling him."

Jose Mourinho yesterday stated Chelsea's remaining transfer business this summer would probably be restricted to one arrival and a single departure. Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Salomon Kalou and Jon Obi Mikel were all recruited before the World Cup started.

"I don't think there will be big movement," Mourinho said. "We can have one player arrive and one to leave. We have kept all the good players who were important for us last year and we have some new ones with a lot of quality."

Asier Del Horno looks certain to be the one to leave after his former club Athletic Bilbao yesterday declared themselves willing to challenge Valencia's £4.8 million bid for the left-back.

Chelsea may seek to replace the Spain international with an approach for Arsenal's Ashley Cole while some speculation continutes to link Damien Duff with a move to Tottenham.