Villa hope for Mondragon deal

Aston Villa are close to completing the signing of Colombian goalkeeper Farid Mondragon.

The Real Zaragoza player played at the last World Cup for Colombia but has suffered a poor season on loan in the Spanish top division. Villa have lodged a £2 million bid for the 6'66" player who also interested Liverpool. The Midlands club have watched Mondragon for the past three months and believe they can secure a reasonable price for him.

Villa will lose their current first choice goalkeeper Mark Bosnich when his contract ends next month and they have also told Michael Oakes to move to the Midlands from his Manchester home or risk losing his place in the Villa contenders to take over from the Australian who has been linked with a move to manchester United.