Albion signed Villa young gun Luke Moore on loan until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent £3million deal, which could rise to £3.5m, in February 2008.

The striker's loan encompasses the full play-off programme, although Villa have a 24-hour recall option on the player after the initial 28 days.

Moore is a former Villa Park team-mate of Kevin Phillips and a product of Villa's youth system.

He was a prolific goalscorer for their Academy and reserve teams and, alongside brother Stefan, was part of the club's FA Youth Cup-winning side in 2002.

Moore followed his sibling into the first team reckoning at Villa Park and scored his first top-flight goal in the 2-0 win over Middlesbrough in March 2005.

The 2005/06 season proved his most lethal in a claret-and-blue shirt, scoring eight Premiership goals in 16 starts, including a hat-trick at Middlesbrough in a 4-0 win in February 2006, with Phillips grabbing the other.

Moore got off to a flyer during 2006/07, scoring twice in the first eight games, only for a shoulder injury to rule him out for six months.

But the 5ft11in striker returned to action in March 2007 and underlined his predatory instincts by netting twice in half-a-dozen late-season substitute appearances.

Moore has scored twice in nine starts for Villa this term.

He boasted four England Under-21 caps before joining Albion.

In total, Moore made 41 starts for Villa, plus 57 sub appearances, scoring 15 goals.

He also scored four goals in six appearances during a loan spell at Wycombe in 2003/04.

(UPDATED ON MARCH 20, 2008)