Aston Villa have reminded Liverpool they will only sell captain Gareth Barry for £18million.
Villa boss Martin O'Neill has made it clear since Barry became a Reds target at the end of last season that he will accept nothing less than his full valuation for the England midfielder.
The midlands club have even formally written to Liverpool to spell out their position.
O'Neill will only relent slightly if Liverpool defender Steve Finnan is part of the package and would then be happy to knock £1million off the asking price.
But it is believed Liverpool rate Finnan, who is in the final year of his contract, at around £2million and that has been a minor sticking point.
O'Neill has not wavered on the price for Barry since being upset at his Liverpool counterpart Rafael Benitez for making his intentions public in early May.
He has already rejected bids of £10million, £12million, £13million and £15million for the 27-year-old.
Benitez is keen for the issue to be resolved so that Barry can start his pre-season preparations.
Barry has been banned from attending Villa's training ground at Bodymoor Heath after being disciplined for criticising O'Neill in a Sunday newspaper article.
Villa are currently on tour in Switzerland but are pressing ahead with their bid to sign Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell as a replacement for Barry.
The former Reading player is likely to complete a £5million move in the next few days after failing to command a regular first-team spot during his only season at Stamford Bridge.
Any deal with Liverpool for Barry will also involve Liverpool paying half of the fee immediately and the remainder within the next 12 months.
O'Neill said: "We're still waiting to hear back from Liverpool after putting that proposal to them.
"It's really up to Liverpool. I really don't know how it's going to work out at the moment. I'm sure there will be some sort of resolution at some stage or another."
