Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill may have kept fans holding their breath until the very last day of the January transfer window but supporters were due to be rewarded today with confirmation of at least one and possibly even two new signings.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Wayne Routledge was due to be unveiled today after putting pen to paper at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground last night.
It is understood the 23-year-old will join Villa on an 18-month contract for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £1.5 million.
The right-sided midfielder could yet be joined by 23-year-old American goalkeeper Brad Guzan who Villa were also hopeful of signing today subject to the player being granted a work permit.
Guzan, the keeper at Major League Soccer side Chivas in the USA, had been pursued by a host of clubs including Scottish Premier League champions Celtic.
The player, estimated to be worth about $4 million (£2 million) may have been enticed to Villa by the lure of playing for American chairman Randy Lerner in the Barclays Premier League.
The club's tardiness in the January transfer window is now becoming something of a trait and fans have been left to sweat right up to the last 24 hours of the deadline wondering whether their manager would bolster his squad the smallest in the Premier League.
They were also concerned that Gary Cahill's on-off move to Bolton Wanderers was last night finally expected to be concluded despite late interest from Birmingham City, Sunder-land and Wigan Athletic which had delayed his decision by 48 hours.
Villa supporters had been concerned that players were being allowed to leave and yet there was no apparent sign of anyone coming in. But those who know O'Neill well will not be surprised by the fact that his deals are made so late.
Last January he signed £9 million winger Ashley Young from Watford and agreed the swap deal with Lyon, exchanging Milan Baros for John Carew with fewer than 48 hours of the transfer window remaining.
Scotland international Shaun Maloney was then signed with only one minute to go before the transfer window slammed shut at midnight.
Routledge was born in Sidcup in Kent and will be Villa's tenth English-born squad member. He was understood to be at Bodymoor Heath last night for a medical and to agree personal terms with Villa following an agreement of his price with Spurs.
The youngster has made only two appearances for Spurs this season and has spent much of the campaign out on loan with Premier League sides Fulham and Portsmouth.
He started his career as a trainee with Crystal Palace where then manager Iain Dowie once said he considered the winger to be a real England prospect for the future.
But Routledge's big move to Spurs was hampered by injury and he lost his place to Aaron Lennon and was subsequently farmed out on loan.
Guzan was the MLS's Goalkeeper of the Year for 2007 and has been capped twice by the USA. His arrival will surely herald the departure of Thomas Sorensen.
