The 26-year-old claimed that the Villains' bid was rejected by Wigan Athletic, where the robust striker spent a season-long loan last term.

According to Zaki, the Latics wanted to turn his loan move into a permanent deal, so as they could make more profits from his sale.

"Aston Villa offered £11 million to sign me in the first half of the season," Zaki said.

"However, Wigan refused to get compensation as they had hopes to sign me and let me join another club later in order to make money.

"They did the same with Palacios, buying him for £1 million and selling him to Spurs for £14 million. It was impossible for them to spend more than £6-7 million on me.

"Wigan is not one of the top four. All they want is to buy players for cheap and then make money by selling them to other clubs later. They would never pay ridiculous amounts of cash on me.’"

Wish

Zaki reiterated that he's keen to have another Premiership spell.

"I wish to stay in the Premier League," he added.

From his side, Zaki's agent Nader Shawki confirmed that his client is targeted by two French outfits.

"About the future, I can't name any clubs for the time being but I can confirm that two French clubs offered to sign Zaki," Shawki said.

"We have an offer from one of the promoted clubs in the Premier League too."

Previously, French reports linked Zaki with an imminent move to French Ligue 1 outfit Lyon.