Brad Guzan wouldn’t have been a name known to many outside of the United States when Martin O’Neill first tried to acquire the keeper’s services from Chivas USA in January 2008. That attempt failed because of work permit rules, but the fact that MON went back for him (successfully) the following summer suggested Guzan was someone worth getting to know.

Since then, we’ve only seen him in first team action during European and domestic cup competitions, save for 26 minutes at Anfield after Brad Friedel was wrongly sent off. Friedel’s red card was rescinded, but had it not been, not only would Brad Senior’s consecutive appearance record run come to an abrupt end, but Brad Junior would have finally made a couple of Premier League starts in his place.

Wembley

We saw a couple exceptional performances from Guzan in the cups last season, a real glimpse of the potential we all hope he truly possesses. But we also saw some moments that gave cause to think twice about him.

The highlight has to be his Carling Cup heroics at the Stadium of Light. He not only made a number of important saves during the game from open play, but he also saved a Kenwyne Jones penalty in the last ten minutes to send the game into extra time.

The additional 30 minutes failed to yield a winning goal and Guzan really made a name for himself in a penalty shoot out where he would save no less than three penalties. Four penalty saves in one match. No goal for you!

It’s fair to say, then, that much was owed to Guzan during the Carling Cup campaign that led all the way to Wembley. It would be understandable if he felt more than a little miffed after MON elected to put the Senior Brad between the posts for the final.

2010/11

Guzan has made just three appearances for the first team this season; the two legs of the Europa League loss against Rapid Vienna and the Carling Cup victory over Blackburn, which happened to be Gerard Houllier’s first game in charge.

He watched the next round – the 2-1 win over Burnley at Villa Park – from the bench. Curiously, he made a pair of rare appearances for the reserve team in fixtures that bookended that Burnley match. The word being that Houllier wanted to see him in action outside of the training environment.

You won’t need reminding that we lost the Carling Cup quarter final encounter at St Andrews, Guzan again on the bench. By the time the FA Cup trip to Sheffield came around Guzan had already joined Hull on the first of two loan stints.

Since then, all we’ve seen of Brad is a promotional appearance with Gary Gardner on behalf of the new AVFC Android app, Andy Marshall retaining his spot on the bench after Guzan’s return to to the fold.

Gold Cup and beyond

Guzan was reportedly omitted from Bob Bradley’s last US squad in March as he had declared himself unavailable for the Gold Cup in June. Why specifically was unknown (or unpublished at least), but speculation suggested it was connected to his upcoming nuptials.

However, more recent speculation about the upcoming squad claims that Guzan will indeed be part of the squad to face Canada, Panama and Guadeloupe after a warm up friendly against Spain on June 4th. Will he play though? Not if Tim Howard is included and he almost certainly will be.

So what lies beyond this summer? Guzan has naturally expressed a desire to play, if not at Villa, then elsewhere. Or at least know that he’s in the long term plans at Villa Park. He’s effectively played the role of Friedel’s understudy for three years now and will turn 27 in September, it’s time he became a first choice keeper somewhere.

That said, if he picks up some tips from Friedel on how to take care of himself there’s still plenty of time: Brad Senior was 29 when he made the switch from Liverpool to Blackburn that really kick-started his club career.

Coincidentally, it was under Gerard Houllier that Friedel made the switch to Blackburn after being frustrated at lack of chances behind David James in the pecking order.

Work permit

Guzan has also expressed a desire to remain in England, but such a switch would appear unlikely as he just doesn’t have the international appearances in the last two years to qualify for a new work permit. Playing in the Gold Cup wouldn’t rectify that situation, although it might form the basis for an appeal.

Should he leave Villa, then, it’s far more likely that he’ll either return to America or move to a club on the continent. For instance, his name has recently been linked, along with a number of fellow Americans including Michael Bradley, to Roma. That may well be nothing more than idle speculation on the back of the new owner, Thomas DiBenedetto, also being an American.

Given the right assurances, he may elect to stay at Villa. His contract expires in 2012 and it took just £600k to acquire his services in 2008, leaving a residual value on the books this summer of around £150k. Small potatoes in terms of risking a Bosman next summer.

Much depends on what Brad Friedel does. If he’s replaced, it will surely be with a new first choice keeper on a four or five year contract, killing any hope Guzan might harbour for a number one spot at Aston Villa.

If Friedel stays, Guzan will have another 12 months to at least play back up and use the cup competitions as an opportunity to force his way into the reckoning. There’s also the increased chance of Friedel suffering some kind of injury, although I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he’s actually some sort of invincible cyborg.

Personally, I’d be happy with both Brads staying at the club. Neither have given me cause to think they’re likely to be a liability in any sense next season and with the mooted wholesale changes this summer, some stability and consistency somewhere in the squad wouldn’t hurt at all.

Of course, we really don’t know who will be managing the club next season right now and that could easily be the biggest factor.

Whatever happens, all signs point to an interesting and important summer. Will we come out the other side with two Brads, one Brad or none? Only time will tell.

[This was the second of two posts on the Brads. Part I is here]