Friedel signs for Villa

Aston Villa have signed Brad Friedel from Blackburn on a three-year contract.While the Midlands club are refusing to state the fee, it is believed to be around £2.5million.Manchester City did express late interest in the American but Friedel confirmed his intention to join the Villa Park outfit.Meanwhile Villa boss Martin O'Neill has suggested he would like Gareth Barry's transfer saga concluded one way or another before it starts to affect the team's preparations for the forthcoming season.England midfielder Barry has been a target for Liverpool for several months, but the Merseysiders' interest in signing him appears to have cooled recently.The 27-year-old publicly stated his wish to join the Anfield club earlier this month, a move which, along with criticising his manager, earned him a two-week suspension and a fine.O'Neill is unhappy with Liverpool's handling of the situation and has hinted he will soon turn his attention to rebuilding his own squad.He said: "We are waiting for Liverpool, which is not actually the greatest situation in our lives. But I am not going to get carried away with the situation."We are looking to try and improve our squad, it's as simple as that. And we are trying to do it with the Gareth Barry situation hovering around us."He is a highly talented footballer that we are paying and that we need to use at some point and, to be perfectly honest, Gareth concurs with that."

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ITN | July 26, 2008

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