Liverpool Agree Stewart Downing Fee With Aston Villa

Villa Park's talent exodus continues. Brad Friedel is at Tottenham Hotspur, Ashley Young has headed off to Manchester United and now Stewart Downing is heading to Anfield after Liverpool and Aston Villa finally reached an agreement as to his price. Villa were believed to want close to £20M for their hard-working winger, and had already rejected an earlier bid from Liverpool that stood at around £15M. Liverpool's official site has confirmed that Downing is undergoing a medical and negotiating personal terms, and Villa too have spoken up about the deal, with PPaul Faulkner claiming that Downing will be replaced quickly:

We've reached an agreement with Liverpool following an improved offer received on Wednesday and the submission of a transfer request by Downing. We believe there are replacements available in the market who can strengthen our squad.

Charles N'Zogbia is the man widely believed to be on the Villan's summer target board, but even if they do manage to land him it's far from clear how they'll make up of the loss of three starter's from last season's team. Selling off one's best players isn't exactly an effective way to recover from a down year. Liverpool, meanwhile, have added Downing, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam to the mixer already this year, and there may be more to come. Will they go back to challenging for the Champions League?

For more on Aston Villa and Liverpool, see 7500 to Holte and Anfield Asylum respectively.