Hughes wants to secure another midfielder with R's skipper Joey Barton banned for 12 games at the beginning of the season, and he has reportedly identified the Irishman.
According to The Sun, Villa have placed an asking price of £4m on the head of the 25-year-old, who played under Hughes at Manchester City.
Hughes has already completed deals for Ryan Nelsen and Andy Johnson this summer.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Manchester CityMan City | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 3 | Newcastle UnitedNewcastle | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 9 | Brentford | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 10 | Manchester UnitedMan Utd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| 11 | Bournemouth | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Fulham | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Tottenham HotspurSpurs | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 14 | West Ham UnitedWest Ham | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
| 15 | Leicester CityLeicester | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 2 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 2 |
| 17 | Ipswich TownIpswich | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 2 |
| 18 | Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | -7 | 1 |
| 19 | Southampton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 0 |
| 20 | Everton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 0 |
| > Premier League Full Table | |||||||||
