ASTON VILLA BOSS Alex McLeish has confirmed that a deal is on for Irish international Shay Given.
The club, who are without an established goalkeeper ever since the departure of Brad Friedel to Tottenham earlier in the summer, are in talks over a £3.5m transfer.
Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov pinpointed Given as the ideal man to replace Friedel, while his manager has indicated a deal is on the cards, saying in the Birmingham Mail: “We certainly need a keeper and we are making progress. We would like it to happen a bit quicker but we are moving forward.”
Given was forced to spend most of last season on the Man City bench, after Joe Hart replaced the Irish stopper as the club’s first-choice keeper following his eye-catching loan spell at Birmingham.
