SHAY GIVEN has again been denied a dream transfer move – this time to Aston Villa.
The Lifford goalkeeper, 32, was on the verge of a swap move to Villa Park, with Brad Friedel going to Man City to be Joe Hart’s back-up for the rest of the season.
The deal would have been a perfect remedy for Shay’s woes which has seen him spending more and more time on the bench.
But the move has been blocked by City boss Roberto Mancini who is not 100% sure about the reliability of his young number one Hart.
The result means that Given will face at least another four months of uncertainty before a possible move to another club in the summer months.
However the problem for Given is that he is getting almost no first team football creating another problem for Republic of Ireland boss Giovani Trapatoni.
Given is still the number one choice between the posts with upcoming internationals against Macedonia in March and June.
But the form of rising Celtic target Kieran Westwood must be a cause for concern for the Donegal man.
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