Martin O'Neill is confident Aston Villa are in a position to reject a big-money bid from Real Madrid for Ashley Young.
Reports have claimed that Spanish champions Real have pinpointed Young as a potential January addition to their squad.
New Real coach Juande Ramos is keen to bring in a winger and Young, along with Wigan Athletic's Antonio Valencia, is reportedly top of the list.
Villa boss O'Neill admits he would not be surprised if Real showed an interest in the England international following their previous pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo.
But, like Manchester United, O'Neill believes Villa would be capable of spurning Real's advances in order to hang on to a key player.
"We haven't had a call from Real Madrid at all, but maybe that's hardly surprising because I'm not sure they ever called Manchester United either," said O'Neill.
"Maybe not for the first four months they were trying to sign Ronaldo anyway!
"But it's correct to say that even if they did come in with £25m we are in a position to turn it down, and we would not be encouraging any bids for him or any of the other players in any case.
"Of course it wouldn't surprise me if Real Madrid or anybody did make an enquiry.
"I said that Ashley was world class and that's fine. But in any case we are in a position to keep Ashley or anybody else because the players themselves are really enjoying being here."
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