Villa striker Luke Moore was today poised to join Albion on loan for the rest of the season before completing a £3m move in the summer.
The deal, which could be worth £3.5m when add-on clauses are included, was set to be completed this afternoon with Moore due at Albion’s training ground for a medical.
If the medical is cleared the 21-year-old will sign officially on Friday, ending an association with Villa that dates back to his childhood and includes 98 appearances for the first team.
The initial move will be a 93-day loan that will be delayed until Friday to make the Birmingham-born forward eligible for the Championship play-off final if Albion are involved.
But the clubs have already agreed a permanent deal that will kick in at the end of the season, similar to the pre-arranged deal that will take the on-loan Curtis Davies in the opposite direction.
Villa will have a recall clause after the initial 28 days of the loan although it appears that Moore’s career at Villa Park is effectively over after a season of frustration saw him relegated to the Villa reserves for much of the last few months.
Moore is likely to be in the Baggies squad for Saturday’s clash with Hull at The Hawthorns but he is set to face a fight to carve out a regular place in the Albion first team.
He will be competing with 17-goal Kevin Phillips, 14-goal Roman Bednar and £900,000 signing Ishmael Miller for places in the Baggies attack.
But his arrival is likely to force summer signing Craig Beattie further down the pecking order at The Hawthorns after his struggles to make a major impact since his move from Celtic.
Moore will be reunited with former Villa team-mate Phillips, who was his strike partner when he bagged his only Premier League hat-trick against Middlesbrough in 2006.
He has two goals from 18 Villa appearances this season, most of which have come from the substitutes bench.
Defender Neil Clement is set to join Hull on loan for the rest of the season.
44 Comments
hell of a signing for albion. best strikers in the league by a mile. fair play.
If confirmed this is a great signing. To be honest I can’t believe Villa have let him go. Oh well at least this will go some way to healing the disappointment of missing out on Kevin Kyle.
Should be a very good bit of business for us, he’s got talent and is only young. He’s slipped down the pecking order at the villa, but a bit of Boinging Baggies support should see him right.
Is this a loan/deferred transfer deal like Davies to villa, Kuzsack to Utd and Horsefield to the blades? Or can we send him back, if it doesn’t work out?
Not that I’m trying to get rid of him before he’s signed of course.
Well done to Peace & Mowbray Boing-Boing
Shame that Clement moving on only gets one line. It doesn’t seem that long ago that he was your best player and looked set for a fantastic career.
what a coup,our season is looking better by the minute,just look at our forwad line now,whos gunna stop us, doing the double THE MOWBURY WAY BOING BOING
Fair play, moore’s a top young player.
Good bit of business
Is ToMo trying to catch Mad Mick up with the same amount of strikers?
Anyone know if he is cup-tied?
4. Malvern Wolf
Clement has always been a good professional for us and is our longest serving player. I think it’s good that he will get the chance to play first team footy again and still have the door left open for a Baggies return, as opposed to just getting paid off and binned. Robinson is virtually an ever present player for us(except for the odd ‘occupational hazard’ ban). If Robbo get’s an injury, then who knows??? I really do think that Mowbray is managing our squad very well, with players out on loan and talented youngsters lined up to come in.
Ps. Does anyone know what the latest is on Bartosz Slusarski? I’m guessing he’s back with us, after his loan to Blackpool that supposedly ended on 1st Feb and is now possibly injured???
Agreed, he’s an excellent signing.
Who’s actually going to miss out though when you have 4 quality strikers?
Malvern Wolf
Good point, he was fantastic a few seasons ago and could well have made something of himself, he was one of the best left foots in England at one point. Great free kick taker too!
As for Moore, I’m confused, TM is saying he wants it all to end because his happy with his strikers but Villa are saying we have signed him??
I thought TM had said that this was not going to happen as he is happy with the strike force he has??? Don’t get me wrong I think that the only way forward is for Albion to aquire top quality young talent to enable us to get to and stay in the Premiership, especialy up front. Pace is needed in the premiership and although KP is doing a fantastic job for us he is comming to the end of his time, Although he could still do a great job imparting his striking knowledge to the younger players but I think he will be used very limited in the premiership.
This is how being a baggie should feel like, WoooooHoooooooooo
6. BarnswellBarmyArmy
I thought it was great result for MM last night… Who pulled the plug on the undersoil heating, Maybe Mick’s not as Mad as you lot suggest?
On QUALITY strikers, it’s about seven - nil to Mowbray.
We’ve got more goals in our squad than you can shake a stick at!
Boing - Boing
Boing - Boing
Boing - Boing
The Molyneux stands silent
The stands all quiet & hushed
The pitch was covered in hard frost
The day the heating burst
Jay Bothroyd, he was cheering
He always wears his gloves
He hasn’t got his name & number
On the duffle coat he loves
And then there is Jez Moxey
He’s always spouting spin
“We didn’t lose this game
& the others didn’t win”.
McCarthy went and blew his top
at the grounds man who was laughing
“You’ve gone and let us all down,
you haven’t put your shift in”.
Barnwellsbarmyarmy,
The difference is in the quality.
8. yeah he is cup tied……came on as a sub against ManU
Delighted with the signing. Villa fans didn’t want to let him go in the summer. However my concern is his attitude hasn’t been great but I have confidence in Mowbray to man manage him in the right way.
Could do with a defender in on loan too
and to all those Albion fans who didn’t want a cup run - you still thinking that now? Controversial I know but I’d take an FA Cup final over promotion!
4: Malvern
Hopefully Clement would get the acknowledgement if he actually left permanently, but as it’s only a loan signing at this minute i’m presuming it is to help him regain full fitness due to long term injuries.
A good signing,although my only fear is that we’ve not struggled to score goals, it’s stopping them that’s so often our downfall. However, more competition’s got to be a good thing. This prob means Beattie is even more unlikely to get a game, which seems a shame. He works harrd for us, and hasn’t really had a good run in the team (although this is due to the quality of our other strikers).
Boing Boing
What a signing, never mind having enough strikers, we need to cover injuries just in case. Fair play to TM and JP I’m trying to contain my excitment but wow we are really moving in the right direction. I’m not saying we are going to win the league or FA cup, i’m keeping my feet firmly on the ground but signing good players only enhances or chances.
Miller and Moore (The two future England strikers?????)M & M!!!!!!!!!! Sounds great to me!!!
Come on you baggies!!!!!!!
its so exciting being a baggie these days.Will he be available for the cup if he passes the medical or is he cuptied?
I thought the same thing Malvern Wolf - “oh by the way, Clem has gone on loan”. I hope this is because of his match fitness rather than a prelude to offloading him.
Great news!another young bright addition.Thanks for your concern malvern, but Clem’s only gone on loan to help rehabilitate him after his injury lay offs.
The pressure is really on the strikers to put the ball away now!
What a signing!!!!!!!
With Miller and Moore up front we could have 2 future england stikers???
And lets face it he’ll probly take the championship apart?…after all he is a premiership striker!
Great bit of work again from TM an Peace!!!
BOING BOING!!!!!!!!
Good signing for you guys, one eye on the Premiership?
barns 7, can hardley call yours strikers top one got 4 boing boing
now lets get some business done on the pitch in the league - love the cup but watford and stoke are looking strong even though their style is gash.
hope we get promoted it would be a crime not too,
also i think there should be some kind of petition to dock stoke points for been so sore on the eyes…
Fantastic news - he will add another dimention to our attack. Its not about how many strikers we have - its about what they bring to the squad - and Luke Moore is a nippy box player - he is abit like superkev but with younger legs and will compliment either Ish or Bednar - a real prospect for next year.
I suggested this as an option way back when Davies went to the Villa (I remember all the dingles saying there was no chance), so now I suggest we sell someone to Liverpool and make Steve gerard part of the deal and then someone else to ManUtd and get Rio ferdinand in…. (well it worked last time).
LOVIN IT !!
T.M @ J.P once again showing great vision @ ambition for our club !The long term future looks bright [certainly not tangerine] BOING BOING
No one loves the Albion more than me and having lived in the North for many years I have had to stand up for them on many occasions ; however, I canot believe all the gushing praise that is being heaped on Tony Mowbray as a manager when we are still one of the softest touches ( defensively in the league)
The signing of Luke Moore is short sighted as it is blatantly obvious to any regular attendee at the Hawthorns that we need one or maybe two decent defenders
As a former defender himself why cannot Mowbray see this ??
If we don’t go up it will be entirely his fault and he should then be sacked
He is tactically poor and as much as many fans might not like it I feel he is the weak link at the club and if we do go up I fear for the club inthe Premiership with him as the manager
Hopefully I will be proved wrong
29 I AGREE WITH YOU IF WE DONT GO UP THIS YEAR IT WILL BE A DISASTER NO MORE PARACHUTE PAYMENTS AND THREE WEALTHY CLUBS COMING DOWN
29 and 30!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you dingles or….???
!!TONY MOWBRAY’s BARMY ARMY!!!
What are you moaning about rely??…under mowbray we are playin the best football we’ve played for years.
TM’s building a good team and squad for the present and the furure!!!!
STOP MOANING AND GROW UP!!!! IF U LOVE THE BAGGIES THEN !!SUPPORT!! THEM!!
In Mowbray we trust!!!!!
BOING BOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
29 - I’m not sure if you are just shortsighted, a wolves fan in disguise or genuinely against the football we are playing.
You say the signing of luke Moore is shortsighted - WHY ?? Do you think he will be played in defence ??
Do you not think the manager is looking to improve ALL areas of the team and that maybe this is just the first addition ??
You say we are a soft touch - yet we have the 2nd best goals against tally in the top 6, and one of the best in the league - your facts are so wrong and so biased against the club that I cannot believe you are a fan.
You say you can’t understand all the praise TM gets - well he gets it from all areas - fans, the press, pundits, other mangers… maybe they all wrong and YOU are the only one who sees thorough him !!
30 - you say three wealthy clubs will be coming down… well three wealthy clubs came down last season and we are above 2 of them - again, your argument holds no substance.
Warrington Baggie
Take a look around. Let’s evaluate the opportunity we have rather than the domesday scenario you paint.
We are in with a real shout of promotion. This is something that Bryan Robson’s team here nor at Sheff U could have dreamed of. McCarthy looked good at Wolves last year but the wheels are well and truely off now.
We have been there or there abouts both seasons under TM and I don’t know how much you have seen this season but for the paying fan the entertainment value is miles higher than the Gary Megson Era. Mowbray is a young English manager who is still very much learning his trade and I am sure that he will improve (especially defensively) given time which thankfully Peace and quite a few on here believe too.
Add to that that we are two wins in the FA Cup away from a first final in my lifetime and with it European Football and despite we are not where we want to be in 3/5 years time, there are exciting times ahead.
Off the field we have built an academy and quality training facilities. We are set up to sustain premier league football should we get there.
The deal that will involve Luke Moore possibly is worth 3 million but if it offesets the sale of Curtis Davies then the cut that Luton get is reduced I believe.
The issue with defenders is well documented and Mowbray knows this too. I think in the window and even the loan market there it is difficult to get the right deal for a player since the aspiration is that he has to be good enough in the Prem next year. There are perhaps players that would do a job or “put in a shift” at Championship level that may be available, but on the day are possibly only as good as we already have. So if the players that we have are not available then I suggest that we keep our money and wait and see what develops. Currently Leon Barnett and Albrechtson have started to look better in recent games.
Let’s not forget the impact that the last striker we signed from the Villa had……
Warrington “Baggies Supporter”?
Isle of Mann “Baggies Supporter”? I guess you don’t get to many games. If you did you would witness a terrific atmosphere and experience the total support offered to both the team and the manager.Hell even the chairman! Had you managed to see the Coventry game , and many others live, you would not hold those views.
Get behind the team and the manager if indeed you are what you profess to be. Perhaps a wolf in Baggies clothing looking to create the disunity that our neighbours are currently enjoying.
It does not really matter if it is a sincerely held view that’s ok by me even if it is so clearly wrong.
Luke Moore is cup tied whoever asked he came on 4 John Carew in the FA Cup third Rd tie @ Villa Pk when Manchester Utd were there in January.
29) you are intitled to an opinion, i can only suspect that you do not get to many games.
We are possibly weak at times at the back but i am watching the kind of football i only dreamed of week in week out at the baggies.
this is not an attack on you i just find your opinion staggering. You only need to look at the signings he has made and the quality of player he has brought to the club.
you call the moore signing shortsighted but any club in our division would love to sign him.
do yourself a favour mate come to the hawthorns and whatch the football you may change your mind
Speaking from a Villa fans point of view, I have been very dissapointed with Luke Moore this year! He’s had countless chances and he’s just not been upto it.
I think he’ll do well in the Championship but he seriously needs to sort his sulky attitude out, O’Neill just wouldnt stand for it.
Funny that Warrington and Isle of Mann follow each other and are not names I recognise as regulars, fishy? Either I can smell something the size of Moby Dick or it really is grim oop north. I’ve no problem with Wolves fans posting on here, even LCW and his ilk have a novelty value but these sort of silly games are ruining the site. If any of our fans do it on the Wolves site I can only apologise.
Onto more serious things. This is a great signing. Those who say we have too many strikers, some said the same thing when we signed Kim should look at our bench against Sheff Utd. We’re in the cup, fixtures are piling up and we’re playing a team of cloggers on a dodgy pitch in the 6th round. More the merrier I say and I’m sure if the right defenders become available TM will look at them. He looks like being a great manager, we’ll do well to hold onto him, never mind sacking him.
29,warrington baggie,,,do you go and watch the baggies every week ?.we are playing some superb football i havent seen since the 70s and your moaning,since mowbray as been manager the football as been fantastic,ye we aint going to win every game( who does).but im sorry your wrong,,how can you sack mowbray if we dont go up,,i wouldnt care ,i just love watching our football,your a fool if you dont,,its a bonus if we go up ,mowbray the one for us long term,,support him……DOING THE DOUBLE THE MOWBRAY WAY….OH YES
luke moore good signing,cant beat young hungry players.learn from super kev priceless.is he cup tied?
29 & 30: oh what the hell…it’s really not worth commenting on!!!
Shrewd signing this Moore, all 3 of philips, Miller & Bednar have recently had troublesome (if minor)injuries, tomo’s just protecting his options up front should the worst come to the worst.
Beattie will prob end up out on loan like Macdonald - no bad thing, both very young with loads of potential remember, ones for the future, Mowbray knows this and sensibly is building for the future as well as the present! I reckon both will be on season long loans to championship clubs next season if we make it to the promised land.
Wish Clem all the best, great club servant - hope to see him back challenging for a 1st team shirt soon
what another great signing by tm,goals win games i`m sure if the right type of defender is out their then tm will bring one or two in before too long.
it`s great to see that if we do get promoted that we have differant types of strikers avalible to select.THE FUTURE BRIGHT,IT`S BLUE&WHITE.
Theoretical scenario: Perfect defence, (never let a goal in), forwards no good, hardly ever score a goal. Results: 0-0, 0-0, 1-0, 0-0, 0-0 ….bottom half of table. I could go on but all regular Baggies get the picture. Now we come back from The Hawthorns hoarse, smiling and walking on air. Swop this for THAT? Not Pygmalion likely!
Sadly Moore is cuptied, played the last 20 minutes as sub against Man U