ALBION intensified competition for the goalkeeping jersey by signing Boaz Myhill from Hull for an undisclosed fee in August 2010.

The keeper penned a three-year contract, plus a further year's option in the club's favour.

Ben Foster's arrival on a season-long loan from Blues in August 2011 saw Myhill move in the opposite direction on a season-long loan to City. Neither club have the option to recall their keeper.

Myhill made his Albion debut in a 2-0 Carling Cup second-round win at Leyton Orient and made six top-flight starts in January and February when then-No.1 Scott Carson was dropped by Roberto Di Matteo.

New boss Roy Hodgson opted to revert to Carson as his first-choice keeper for the duration of the campaign.

Myhill's move to the Baggies ended a successful seven-year spell with the Tigers, which saw him rise from the old Third Division to the Barclays Premier League and become a Wales international.

Although born in the United States to an American father and Llangollen-born mother, Boaz - full name Glyn Oliver Myhill - has lived in the UK since the age of one.

He joined Villa as a 12-year-old and went onto represent England at most levels up to and including Under-20.

Myhill was also put on standby for the Under-21s and was eligible to play for the USA - but he pledged his allegiance to Wales in 2008.

After returning from loan spells at Stoke and Bristol City without making an appearance, the California-born keeper finally made his league debut while on loan at First Division Bradford in November 2002.

Further loan spells with Macclesfield and Stockport at the start of 2003/04 followed before he left Villa permanently, without making a senior appearance, by joining Third Division Hull in a £50,000 deal in December 2003.

Myhill's first two seasons with the Tigers could not have gone better. Not only did they both end in promotion, he cemented his place between the City sticks in 2004-05 when he missed only one league game.

He won the Tigers' Player-of-the-Year Award the following term after being a near ever-present and he was also named the No.1 keeper in FourFourTwo magazine's list of the top 50 Football League players.

The 6ft3in custodian played all-but 31 minutes of the 51-game 2006-07 campaign before helping Hull finish in their highest-ever league position the following season, culminating in a Championship play-off final success in the club's first-ever trip to Wembley.

Myhill also reached a notable personal landmark during that remarkable campaign when, at the relatively young age of 25, he became only the ninth keeper to make 200 appearances for the club.

In March 2008, he also became the fifth Tiger to be capped at full international level by Wales.

Myhill's first season in the Premier League during 2008/09 was to prove memorable. After losing his place to Matt Duke in the January, he won it back for the run-in and helped Hull avoid relegation - at Albion's expense.

He remained a regular member of the Wales squad last season, winning a further three caps, but his club campaign was to end in disappointing fashion, as Hull were all-but relegated with two games remaining.