Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is delighted with the progress being made by USA international goalkeeper Brad Guzan. O'Neill told Villa's website: "He is a really fine goalkeeper. I am delighted to have him.

"We couldn't get a work permit for him in January and he was desperately disappointed at that time. But I thought, if he still wanted to come, we would wait for him and see it through.

"It paid big dividends in Prague. I thought he was brilliant, really brilliant.

"He is a class goalkeeper in the making. We wouldn't have made as much as effort as we did if we didn't rate him.

"We couldn't get him originally - he didn't meet the criteria which was fine - and we got him on appeal. "The reasons for my desire to sign him were clear in the UEFA Cup game - he will be a really top-class goalkeeper and he follows in a long line of American goalkeepers who have come over here and been fantastic."