SOCCER: SHAY GIVEN'S move to Villa Park was finally confirmed last night with the 35-year-old Republic of Ireland goalkeeper leaving Manchester City in a move worth fractionally over €4 million.
The Irishman has signed a five-year-deal with the English midlands club and goes straight into the squad for their friendly against Walsall on Thursday. He successfully completed a medical with the club over the weekend having previously agreed personal terms and he spent yesterday at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground where it is believed the last of the formalities were wrapped up.
“Aston Villa is a huge club and I’m really excited to be joining. It’s a new challenge and I’m eager to embrace it,” said Given.
The switch will almost certainly mean regular first-team football for the Donegalman who had been relegated to the sidelines at City where first injury and then the emergence of Joe Hart cost him his starting place. Given made no secret of his desire to get away from Eastlands once it became clear he would no longer be first choice and after the club blocked a move in the January window they have now allowed him to go.
Alex McLeish has been in the market for a goalkeeper since taking over at Villa earlier in the summer following the departure of Brad Friedel for Tottenham and while he had been linked with a move for Birmingham’s Ben Foster, Given soon emerged as his main target with talks having gathered momentum over the past couple of weeks.
Given is McLeish’s first signing and the former Birmingham manager believes Given will have a major impact at the club. “Shay has come here with something of a point to prove and that won’t do him any harm at all,” McLeish said. “Everybody who has watched him perform over many years in the Premier League will know his pedigree so we believe we have secured the services of one of the best goalkeepers in the business.”
Giovanni Trapattoni said last week the move would be a good one for Given if it paved the way back to regular competitive action for him and his international team-mate Richard Dunne, who discussed how the move was progressing with Given, said he was keen to put an end to all of the uncertainty.
“I spoke to him and he just wanted to get here and get started,” he said. “I spoke to him when he got here and I think he was surprised about how good the facilities and the set-up are here at Bodymoor. I think it’s a good opportunity for Shay to get back to playing football and I think it’s one he’s really looking forward to.”
The move is timely for Given who is likely to face a greater threat to his place in Trapattoni’s team next season in the event, as is expected, Keiren Westwood establishes himself as Steve Bruce’s number one at Sunderland.
Given has been pretty much an automatic first choice for Ireland for nearly 10 of the 15 years since his first cap against Russia in March 1996 but a couple of serious shoulder injuries opened the door to his rival who is now likely to have the opportunity to prove himself at Premier League level.
The former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United man, who already has 113 caps, is famously competitive, however, and has previously indicated his desire to continue to play on for Ireland for several more years.
