Martin O’Neill continues to invest Randy Learner’s dollars on players that he believes will stop them from entering the relegation battle and develop into a team that will compete for Europe next season.

The Irishman has landed John Carew from Lyon as part of the deal that sees Baros reunited with his former Liverpool boss Gerard Houlier. The Norwegian striker has signed a three year deal with Villa and is looking forward to playing under O’Neill. The well travelled 27 year old can now add England to the list of countries where he has played for a number of top teams. Lyon in France, Valencia in Spain, Roma in Italy and Besiktas in Turkey.