Friedel in Villa talks

Blackburn have given permission to Aston Villa to begin talks with Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel over a move to Villa Park.

Villa had already seen a £2million offer accepted by the Lancashire club and were waiting to be given the green light by Rovers to commence contract talks with the American shot stopper.

Blackburn look set to complete the signing of Tottenham's Paul Robinson in the next 24 hours which has allowed Friedel to begin talks with Villa over his move away and Martin O'Neill has said they will now try to get a deal done as soon as possible.

"We've been given permission to speak to the player and that's something that we want to do," O'Neill told the club's official website.

"But there are still a lot of things to happen.

"We're in the process of strengthening the squad and this is all part of our efforts to add strength in depth."