Stiliyan Petrov

ALEX McLeish does not expect captain Stiliyan Petrov to leave in January – unless Villa receive a bid they can’t refuse.

There were weekend reports that the claret and blues would listen to offers for Petrov, who has 18 months left on his contract.

But McLeish insists he is not actively seeking to move on the experienced skipper, who continued his revival with his third goal of the season in Saturday’s win at Bolton.

“I saw that but we’ve never said anything,” said McLeish. “I can only assume it’s come from an agent. We’ve never said, and I’ve never said to Stan, we’ll try and get you out in January.

“Sometimes some things happen and fall in your lap.

“Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice but we have no intentions of letting Stan go in January unless someone comes in with a bid we can’t refuse.