Aston Villa are permitted to have transfer talks with Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel, and with it is believed that the Rovers have Tottenham's Paul Robinson deal almost done and dusted.

Rovers had earlier declared that they had accepted bid from their Premiership rivals on conditional basis provided their own offer being accepted by another club for the replacement player.

With veteran USA man Friedel now looking set to move to Villa Park with a longer deal and higher wages said to be the main attraction, Robinson is also set to resurrect his career after having a horror last year when he lost his number 1 position with Spurs and England.

Villa announced on the official website that they have been given permission to open talks with Friedel.

Martin O'Neill told avfc.co.uk: "We've been given permission to talk to the player and that's something that we want to do.But there are still lots 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."

Meanwhile, Blackburn are optimistic of wrapping up the deal for Robinson in the next 24 hours, although chairman John Williams has said there are still issues to be sorted out.

According to reports, a fee in the region of £3.5million has been agreed but permission is awaited for the talks with the 28-year-old to begin.

Williams told the Lancashire Telegraph: "We have made good progress with our bid, but there are still some details to sort out."