Davies finally bags move away from West Brom

Davies has initially signed for a year on loan with a view to a permanent switch next summer to potentially become Villa's club record signing.

It is understood that should the transfer go through, the deal will be worth an initial £8.5million, rising to to a potential £10million with add-ons.

But he seems certain to have to delay his debut with a hamstring injury likely to keep him out of Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash at home to Chelsea.

O'Neill has been tracking Davies since the second half of last season and his capture takes the spending of club owner Randy Lerner past the £40million mark since he took control of the club 12 months ago.

Davies said: "I'm delighted that everything has been sorted. At West Brom I was a small fish in a big pond. Anything I did okay looked good.

"Here I have got to fight for my place but we want to push on to Europe and I want to be part of that.

"The manager's record speaks for itself. During his career he has turned people like Emile Heskey, Robbie Savage and Muzzy Izzet into great players and hopefully he can turn me into a gem as well."

Davies is impressed with the crop of young talent at Villa and is hoping eventually he can follow Ashley Young into the England squad.

Davies said: "I looked at the squad list at Villa and eight of the players are or have been England Under-21 internationals. Hopefully we can all push each other through and play for England.

"When you see people like Ashley in the squad now it tells you that I have made the right move. I have come here to do well and working with defenders like Martin Laursen and Olof Mellberg every day can improve you."

Davies gave up the West Brom captaincy when he made it clear he wanted to leave the club and he came in for abuse from a section of fans during a pre-season game with Heerenveen.

But he is hoping supporters will now understand his decision to move on - a decision which will eventually net Albion £7million profit on the £3million they gave to Luton when purchasing him two years ago.

Davies said: "It would have been dishonest for me to carry on as captain when I said I wanted to leave. It would not have been right for me to be at the front of the team with the armband.

"But if the West Brom fans do not understand my decision to improve myself and play in the Premier League, then they never will."

Davies admitted his priority in the short-term was to recover from a hamstring injury he has been suffering from for the past week and gain full fitness.

He said: "I want to get fit, get in the team and kick on from there. I want to push the club as far as I can."

O'Neill said: "I am very pleased to have signed Curtis. He has been worth waiting for. It seems a long time since our interest was made known but all's well that ends well.

"West Brom wanted to do the deal in the way we have done it, starting with a season-long loan, and I am happy to go along with it."

O'Neill did not rule out the possibility of another player arriving at Villa Park before the transfer window closes at midnight.

But he conceded his main right-back target may not be available until the January transfer window.

He said: "It's still possible someone may be coming in before midnight but it looks like the right-back I really want will not be available for two or three months.

"If that is the case, then so be it. I would prefer the player I want to come in January but we do have alternatives here."

O'Neill also insisted there have been no inquiries about homesick Shaun Maloney who has been constantly linked with a move back to Celtic.

The Irish man said: "No one from Scotland has contacted me at all. We want Shaun to stay. He is a bit homesick but maybe three goals in two games will help with his homesickness."

O'Neill's other new central defender, Zat Knight, signed from Fulham for £3.5million on Wednesday, will go straight in to the squad to face Jose Mourinho's side.

But keeper Thomas Sorensen and midfielder Patrik Berger are still not fit enough to be considered for selection.