The Reds have been buoyed by Barry's very thinly-veiled appeal for Liverpool to match Aston Villa's valuation and give him the Champions League football he craves.
They have already had one bid rejected but that is likely to be raised to one worth £15m that includes Peter Crouch.
The Birmingham Evening Mail reports Villa boss Martin O'Neill will hold talks with Barry this week but 'realistically his main target now is to persuade £8-million rated Peter Crouch to become part of a swap deal'.
Villa will apparently use the money to help fund moves for Steve Sidwell and James Milner.