PREMIER League giants Aston Villa are poised to sign 16-year old Constantine centre forward Liam Prynn from Torquay United for a reported fee of £50,000.

Prynn, a student at Penryn College and a product of the Gulls’ centre of excellence, impressed while on trial at Villa last season.

Since then the clubs have been locked in talks over a potential move.

Torquay United’s head of youth development Geoff Harrop is reported to have been negotiating the deal, although the club has remained tight-lipped over the details.

A Villa spokesman said on Tuesday that talks were at an advanced stage and an offer had been made.

But although they did not envisage there being any problems, those negotiations were on hold while certain key figures involved in finalising the deal were away on holiday.

Prynn broke into Torquay’s Football League Alliance U18s youth team this season and was due to take up a two-year scholarship at Plainmoor later this month.

But Villa were so keen not to miss out that an offer was made early to avoid competition from other top flight clubs.

Torquay United chief executive Andrew Candy said Prynn’s imminent departure gave hope to other young players at Plainmoor.

“It’s good for our youth players to see that these things are possible at Torquay United,” he said.

Villa will reportedly pay an initial fee for the youngster, which is expected to rise depending on his progress through the ranks at Villa Park.

The Midlanders’ training academy at Bodymoor Heath is renowned for nurturing young footballing talent - the most recent example being forward Andreas Wiemann.

The Austrian was signed by Villa from Rapid Vienna at the same age as Prynn, and has since broken in to the first team and gone on to represent his country