BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP) - Aston Villa were on the verge of securing the signing of highly-rated Watford forward Ashley Young for nearly 10 million pounds (20 million dollars) after offloading the misfiring Milan Baros to Lyon.

Young, who turned down the chance to join West Ham, was expected to complete a move that will see him team up with giant Norway striker John Carew, who joined Villa on Monday in a straight swap for Baros.

The double transfer swoop sees manager Martin O´Neill return to the forward formula which brought him so much success at Celtic, where Henrik Larsson´s mobility and finishing ability were usually allied to the physical presence of either John Hartson or Chris Sutton, who has since been reunited with his old boss in Birmingham.

O´Neill is hopeful that Young, 21, can develop into a Larsson-style goalscorer, which is exactly what Villa need if they are to build on their promising start to life under the Northern Irishman.

Baros had managed just one goal this season and O´Neill recognised: "We are a side who do create chances - it even happened in our recent bad spell - and we need someone with the ability to put the ball in the net.

"We needed a goalscorer, someone who can convert just some of the chances that we are creating."

The arrival of Carew and Young could also mean Juan Pablo Angel´s days at Villa Park are numbered, although O´Neill is unlikely to release the Colombian forward while Sutton remains sidelined by a vision problem.