Blackburn Rovers have agreed a fee with Aston Villa for their American goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

37-year-old Friedel has been at Ewood Park since joining from Liverpool in 2000, but stunned new Rovers boss Paul Ince earlier this summer when he stated his desire to leave Blackburn, with Rovers now agreeing a £2million transfer fee with Villa.

Villa manager Martin O’Neill, has already agreed a deal with another American keeper, Brad Guzan of MLS side Chivas USA, but an experienced keeper was paramount of his transfer targets, with Friedel fitting the bill perfectly, after missing out on Liverpool keeper Scott Carson, who joined West Bromwich Albion.

Friedel’s departure to Villa Park will leave Ince with a slight problem, as he did not anticipate having to buy a new keeper this summer.