Guzan hints Aston Villa move close

Brad Guzan may have played his final game in the Chivas USA goal Thursday night. Unsurprisingly, he put in a good performance that included a brave stop on Los Angeles Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz to preserve the 1-1 draw.

After the match, Guzan did little to hide the fact that his long-rumored move to Aston Villa is imminent. Speaking to ESPN, Guzan said, "I know there's some talks going on and obviously we're kind of seeing what happens in the next couple of days here. I hope for the best result for everybody involved."

Not exactly encouraging for any Chivas fans hoping the 24-year-old would stay at the Home Depot Center a little while longer. They can be thankful they had him for the first half of the season. Guzan nearly relocated to Villa Park in January, but the Home Office denied his work permit.

By most accounts, Guzan is the next big American goalkeeper to conquer Europe, the heir apparent to predecessors Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel and Tim Howard. Standing 6-foot-4 with cat-like quickness, Guzan is the prototypical keeper for the Premier League.

His rise from a shell-shocked 20-year-old rookie to the U.S. No. 2 has coincided with the rise of Chivas itself. After the club's horrible maiden season in 2005, the club won the Western Conference just two years later. He's not planning on leaving without some good feelings about his first pro club.

"It's been absolutely unbelievable," Guzan said. "Obviously being able to stay at a club for three and a half years, learning and growing as a player, as a person, I've been very thankful for Chivas USA and everything they've done for me. And obviously the league has made tremendous strides, and hopefully it'll keep going in the right direction."

-- Goal.com