Villa signed Taylor from Arsenal in June 2005. The shot-stopper made 30 senior appearances for the Gunners but fell down the pecking order at Highbury and was third choice behind Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia before his move.

The Romford-born keeper had loan spells with Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace, Peterborough and Leicester before his move to Villa Park.

LAST SEASON

Stuart Taylor could be forgiven for thinking football's fates have conspired against him since his move from Arsenal to Villa two years ago.

During his debut campaign, he was restricted to just two appearances, including a debut at Manchester City when he only learned a few minutes before kick-off that he was playing.

An injury to Thomas Sorensen last November should have paved the way for an extended run in the team, but it certainly didn't turn out that way.

Although Sorensen was sidelined until January, Taylor played just three games - against Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sheffield United - before he was laid low by a knee injury.

That left the club with a goalkeeping crisis, which manager Martin O'Neill solved by signing Hungarian Gabor Kiraly on an emergency loan arrangement from Crystal Palace.

Ironically, the two regular keepers regained fitness at the same time, which meant Taylor was back to his regular role on the bench, although he did replace Sorensen at half-time at Bolton on the final day of the season.