Expressandstar.com bring you the latest transfer gossip on Wolves, Albion, Villa, Birmingham and Walsall.

Villa manager Gerard Houllier insists he could not have asked for much more from his side after their defeat at Manchester United.

Villa’s trip to face Manchester United at Old Trafford takes on an added significance for goalkeeper Brad Friedel as he becomes the club’s oldest ever player.

Villa booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup as they claimed a comfortable 3-1 win over Blackburn thanks to goals from Ciaran Clark, Robert Pires and Nathan Delfouneso.

Brad Friedel hailed Villa’s dramatic late comeback at Chelsea as a “massive result” – and vowed to carry the fighting spirit into their next match against Sunderland, writes Timothy Abraham.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel will have to wait until February to find out if he has a future with Villa – as team-mate Steve Sidwell completes his move to West Ham.

Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel has played down talk of a training ground bust-up between manager Gerard Houllier and defender Richard Dunne.

Gerard Houllier endured a horror return to Liverpool as Villa slumped to their fourth successive defeat after being torn apart at Anfield, writes Brendan McLoughlin.

Villa manager Gerard Houllier has confirmed the club are prepared to offer Brad Friedel a new contact to take the evergreen goalkeeper into his forties.

New manager Gerard Houllier takes control at Villa today with the message from the claret and blue dressing room – ‘we are hungry to get started.’