Brad Guzan is staying in the Premiership after all.
Middlesbrough FC announced on Friday that they have signed the veteran US international to a two-year deal. The move brings his time at Aston Villa to a close after eight years of service, and keeps him in England's top flight after Middlesbrough secured promotion at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
A 31-year-old goalkeeper, Guzan had been in and out of favor at AVFC and was widely expected to part company with the Villains, who suffered through a woeful last season and were relegated from the EPL with weeks left in the campaign.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, finished second in the Championship to earn automatic promotion to the top flight under Spanish manager Aitor Karanka, himself an MLS veteran who ended his playing career with the Colorado Rapids in 2006.
Guzan now faces a stiff competition for the starting job at the Riverside Stadium, as Boro already have former FC Barcelona shotstopper Victor Valdes as well as Dimi Konstantopoulos and Tomas Mejias on their books.
The second overall pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, Guzan joined Villa in 2008 after making his name with Chivas USA. He backstopped the US national team's run to the Copa America Centenario semifinals this summer after coach Jurgen Klinsmann named him the Yanks' starting 'keeper following an extended period of platooning with Tim Howard.
