£9m Gordon snubs Villa for Roy's revolution

The 24-year-old had been expected to meet Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill after checking out what Premiership new boys Sunderland had to offer.

Sunderland-bound: Craig Gordon will link up with Roy Keane at the Stadium of Light

But Sportsmail understands that Villa, who had yet to agree to pay the asking price, were told by Hearts yesterday that they could not contact the player although O'Neill had been given the go ahead by Villa owner Randy Lerner to match Sunderland's offer.

Gordon is believed to have always favoured a move to the north-east of England and last night he agreed a five-year contract after undergoing a medical at the Stadium of Light.

The move is a triumph for Sunderland manager Roy Keane whose patience to land the 23-times capped Scotland player has finally paid off.

Hearts will receive an initial £7m, plus £2m in performance-related add-ons - giving a total that smashes the record fee paid by a British club for a goalkeeper.

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn said: "This is Roy's department really but we are trying hard - there are lots of bits and pieces going on behind the scenes. If it takes a bit longer, so be it. We are not going to lose our nerve now.

"My message to our fans is that we haven't jumped in when an agent has rung us with a fashionable player. A lot of things have to fall right for someone to come to play at Sunderland."

Keane's swoop tops the £7.8m forked out by Manchester United to land French World Cup star Fabien Barthez in 2000 and the £7m Chelsea shelled out to sign Petr Cech three years ago.

The record fee for Gordon - first revealed by Sportsmail on July 18 - means he will eclipse Rangers and Scotland captain Barry Ferguson as the most expensive Scottish player of all time.

Ferguson cost Blackburn Rovers £7.5m when Graeme Souness lured the midfielder south from Ibrox in 2003. And a potential replacement for Gordon at Tynecastle entered the fray last night when Vladimir Romanov-sponsored FBK Kaunas moved to snap up Argentinian keeper Esteban Dreer from homeland club Arsenal FC, leading to speculation that the 25-year-old could soon be Edinburgh-bound.

Hearts back-up goalkeeper Steve Banks, meanwhile, revealed that the first he knew he was going to play in Monday night's Edinburgh derby was when Gordon failed to show at training.

"It was said that he was elsewhere speaking to other people," said Banks. "Craig is obviously a busy boy at the moment but he sent me a text to say good luck before the derby."

Hearts badly need a quick pick-me-up after their shambling show against Hibs. Should they stumble again at Pittodrie on Sunday, fans already on the brink of revolt and openly hostile towards new striker Ricardas Beniusis - after one match - will be pushed to the limit.

Yet former Hibs midfielder Michael Stewart, who had an impressive enough personal performance on his second debut for Hearts, believes a united front is essential.

"The fans obviously want success. They've got a voice and an opinion - they're as disappointed as the players and staff," said Stewart. "Of course, I felt for big Benny.

"When you talk about the fans turning, the only time I noticed it was when he was getting taken off. That was disappointing. But every fan wants instant success and, obviously, he bore the brunt of that. I'm sure he will bounce back."