John Gregory has pulled out of the race to sign Sheffield Wednesday's Benito Carbone, reportedly over the striker's wage demands.

The Villa boss has pulled out of the deal after meeting with the player and his representatives on Monday.

Last week Spurs pulled out of the race to sign the former Inter Milan man over his reported £1m a year wages, but news of Villa's withdrawal will leave Derby County as the only serious contenders to snap up the Italian ace.

The Rams tried to sign Carbone last month only to pull out of the deal when it emerged that Carbone was just keen to make the switch until the end of the season. But Derby boss Jim Smith has said that the Rams are looking to resurrect the deal to take Carbone to Pride Park. He commented: "We are looking to bring Carbone in until the end of the season."

John Gregory had hoped to clinch the signing of the 28-year-old Italian this week, but now Derby are making a fresh attempt to attract him to Pride Park after a previous bid fell through. Following his side's 3-3 draw with Southampton, Smith told the Sheffield Wednesday website: ``We are trying to resurrect the deal.

We are looking to bring Carbone in until the end of the season for a nominal fee that will suit both parties. ``Hopefully we could then re-negotiate in the summer. We are still waiting on phone calls at the moment.''

Carbone has been in dispute with Wednesday all season. Matters came to a head when he stormed away from a match against Southampton and he wasn't even on the bench for the Owls' 5-1 win against Wimbledon on Saturday.