Gareth Barry will bid a bitter farewell to Villa next week just as American keeper Brad Guzan arrives in Martin O’Neill’s changing squad.
Barry’s disputed exit to Liverpool is now just days away after the Anfield club finally struck a deal over the methods of payment in what will be a record sale for Villa.
Liverpool are paying around £15m in cash and throwing right-back Steve Finnan into the pot as well and that will go ahead within 72 hours now that Villa have agreed a time scale of staggered cash payments from Anfield.
That closing act of an angry farewell will coincide with 23-year-old Guzan being recruited for about £1m to fill one of Villa’s two goalkeeping vacancies .
O’Neill believes he has recruited the next big American goalkeeping talent heading for a major career in Europe in the footsteps of Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel and Tim Howard.
And the transfer will complete a meteoric rise for the 6ft 4in keeper who was an unknown on the US football scene less than three years ago but is now considered the best of their coveted group of stoppers.
Mexican businessman Jorge Vergara, a part-owner of Guzan’s Chivas MLS team Guzan is leaving has confirmed a deal has been struck and although he would not name the buying club the leak of the story flushed out confirmation from Villa Park today.
Vergera said: “He’s leaving for Europe, to England specifically, and we’re very happy and very glad that another Chivas player is going to Europe.”
Guzan, frustrated by red tape over his work permit when he tried to sign for Villa in January, says: “It’s been absolutely unbelievable.”
6 Comments
What an exclusive for the E&S. Nobody else is reporting that the barry deal is done, in fact, quite the opposite, everybody else believes a deal is far from done.
The E&S are either streets ahead of everybody else or they are just making up a headline to seell newspapers. I wonder which it could be……..
What a cop out. They should have held out for the full £18 million - or better still sell him to Arsenal. That would have taught them about tapping up players.
So the deal is done then is it? Happening in the next 72 hours? That’s interesting as Martin O’Neill has just said that Liverpool have not yet made another bid and they still haven’t met our £18 Million valuation. Not to mention Arsenal are now interested as well and DO have the money. This article is pointless and has no substance, you either made this up off the top of your head or you’re recycling very old news. Get a grip.
3 - just face it barry off to a big team now, you can only hold on to better players for so long until they need to progress
we all go through it but you dont see walsall, wolves, birmingham, wba moaning. we just get on with it
we&wba
Err, not whinging eh. What about Curtis Davies and Kev Phillips? Mmmm.
You will be back to the Championship soon enough.
I just want him to go now so please say this is true!!!