"I said the other day that he(Villa) is one of the names we had on our list, but I can say at this moment that it is not an option for us," Benitez told Skysports.com.

"We know Villa is a very good player, we know the price and we know the players we have, so when you consider everything we decided he was one of the names, but at this moment, not our target," added the Spaniard.

Villa made a huge impact in the EURO 2008 scoring four goals that earned him the tournament's golden boot.

"Keane is one of the other names and okay we are still working with other names. We were in contact and we will see now," said Benitez.

The Irish striker has been linked with a move away from the Spurs. Benitez wants to strengthen his front line after the departure of Peter Crouch to Portsmouth.