Marlon's the summer bargain

Striker Harewood has cost Villa £4m from West Ham, but with fellow forwards Darren Bent sold for £16.5m and the relatively untried Michael Chopra and David Nugent costing £5m and £6m recently, O'Neill reckons Harewood – who scored 14 Premiership goals in 2005-06 – could prove a snip.

Premier League clubs are guaranteed a minimum £30m under the new TV deal from Setanta and Sky, and the transfer market involving top flight clubs has seen prices spiral.

But O'Neill said: "I'm delighted Marlon's come and I believe he'll be an asset to us.

"I think he could prove exceptional value in this day and age – he's got the capability , there's no doubt at all about it. He's got time on his side, he's still very young and he wants to prove it again."

"There's probably a view with the new television money coming in that prices will escalate again after we'd all thought they'd reached their height a couple of years ago.

"You'd have thought that type of money for players had dropped. But the new money has suggested otherwise and it's not easy. That's why I think Marlon could prove fantastic value."

Harewood failed to repeat his goalscoring form last season, managing just three from 32 league games as the Hammers struggled to avoid the drop.

But O'Neill is confident the 6ft 1ins striker can rediscover his scoring touch.

"If he recaptures the form he showed the season before last, he'll be terrific for us, and he can play," added the Villa boss.

O'Neill has reopened talks to extend defender Olof Mellberg's contract, which expires next summer.

"I'm speaking to Olof. He's got one year left to run and I started having conversation with his agent before the season ended," he said.