The two clubs have already agreed a fee which could amount to £500,000 when Delaney has
 made a certain number of first team appearances for Villa. 

 Gregory said: ``Delaney is a player for the future. The idea is to bring him along this season and
 hopefully introduce him into the first team at a later date.'' 

 Villa, however, have been badly hit by injuries to several key defenders including Steve Watson
 and Ugo Ehiogu and Delaney could find himself in the first team sooner than expected.