Aston Villa are set to dispatch a cheque for £50,000 to Second Division Cardiff City this week.

The money is due after wing-back Mark Delaney made his international debut for Wales against Switzerland last Saturday.

Villa agreed to the clause when they signed the 23-year-old from Cardiff in March. Villa paid an initial £350,000 for Delaney who was rejected by Manchester United for being too small when he was a schoolboy.

As well as paying £50,000 for the international appearance, Villa are also committed to handing over a further £100,000 to the Welsh club when Delaney has made a set number of first-team appearances at Villa Park.

But John Gregory has no qualms about splashing out the extra £150,000. He knows that Villa have got themselves a bargain for a total outlay of £500,000.

Gregory already feels that Delaney's market value has shot up to £2million and that figure will continue to rise if he can keep performing at such a consistent level.

Delaney, who was playing non-league football with Camerthen Town little more than a year ago, has admitted that he is in dreamland in Villa Park and that he is living a real life fairy tale at the club.

But Delaney also admits that he is going to be keeping his feet very firmly on the ground as he accepts that he has still got a lot to learn