Hare today, gone in three months' time

We may have lost out to Derby for Everton's James Vaughan, but another long-in-the-pipeline loan deal for a Premier League striker has borne fruit, with Marlon Harewood joining the club from Aston Villa for three months (the move has been confirmed by both us and Villa since the BBC report was written).

Harewood could hardly be said to have pulled up many trees in the top flight, and the Villains' baffling willingness to part with £4m for him looks even more curious when you consider Martin O'Neill's given him just one league start in his two years in the West Midlands.

All the same, he's been at his best in the second tier, with both Nottingham Forest and West Ham, and as Chris Hughton commented, he brings "both physical presence and experience", so could prove a useful reinforcement, particularly with Big Lad out injured for the foreseeable future and Nile Ranger yet to get off the mark.

Just a shame one of our recent departees isn't still around - the Homer Simpson lookalike would have got on famously with Duff...