Villa aiming to grab Dutch goal-machine

LONDON: Alex McLeish faces a battle with Valencia for Dutch sensation Bas Dost (pic).

Villa boss McLeish wants the £5 million-rated (RM25m) Heerenveen and Holland U-21 star, who is the topscorer in the Dutch League with 22 so far this season.

But Spanish giants Valencia are ready to steal the Heerenveen hitman from under Villa’s nose, as they have identified him as a probable replacement for £20m-rated Roberto Soldado.

Soldado, who has replaced Fernando Torres in the Spain national team and could start ahead of the Chelsea striker at Euro 2012, is attracting Chelsea and Arsenal interest.