BLACKBURN boss Paul Ince made his first major signing last night after he swooped for England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Rovers have agreed to pay Tottenham Hotspur £3.5 million for the 28-year-old, who has signed a five-year contract with the club following talks with chairman John Williams.

Robinson’s arrival has paved the way for Brad Friedel to leave, and the American flew back from the club’s training camp in Portugal yesterday lunchtime to hold transfer talks with Aston Villa.

However, former Rovers boss Mark Hughes was last night trying to hijack that deal, after his new club, Manchester City, belatedly agreed to match Villa’s £2.5m bid for the 37-year-old.

The City chief said: “We have lost an experienced goalkeeper and if we can get the right quality in then we will be looking to add some additional know-how in that department.

“I think it is very important. Such a signing will help the development of the very good young players we have at the club. We should have experienced cover.

“All Premier League clubs carry three keepers and that’s what we are looking to do. It is a case of seeing who is out there and if we can bring in the right person.”

Friedel’s imminent departure, in all likelihood to Villa, spells the end of an era at Ewood Park.

But, while Ince never wanted to lose the former Liverpool ace, he has succeeded in replacing him with a man nine years his junior at a cost of £1 million.

Robinson arrives at Ewood determined to re-establish himself as the nation’s number one keeper, after a couple of high profile mistakes led to him losing his place in the England team.

After being frozen out at White Hart Lane, the former Leeds United stopper hopes a fresh start at a new club will help him to regain the kind of form that won him 41 senior international caps.

Meanwhile, striker Roque Santa Cruz has also been linked with a move to Manchester City, but the Paraguayan says he expects to be starting the season in a Rovers shirt.

He reportedly told the press in Paraguay: “I think a move is unlikely because Paul Ince, my new manager, already said that he doesn’t want to sell me.

“I am yet to speak to him since I returned from Paraguay but when I have the opportunity I will speak. I hope by the time the League starts on August 16 this will all be sorted out.”

In the meantime, Rovers secured a morale-boosting friendly victory over Benfica in Portugal last night.

Goals from Morten Gamst Pedersen, Jason Roberts and Brett Emerton earned Ince’s team a deserved 3-2 win at the Vila Real de Santo Antonio Stadium in the Algarve.