Aston Villa are in talks with West Ham United striker Marlon Harewood.

The former Nottingham Forest player held talks with Wigan Athletic over the weekend and was expected to sign early this week, but Villa’s interest has changed all of this.

Martin O’Neill has agreed a fee with the Hammers and Harewood’s agent Mick McGuire has confirmed that Villa are in talks.

“We are currently in talks with Aston Villa after they agreed a fee with West Ham,” McGuire told skysports.com.

“If the talks go well he will then undergo a medical as normal.

“As we know Wigan have made a bid for Marlon and talked to him also.

“Now it is down to Marlon to make a decision on where he goes.”

“We’ve been given the go-ahead to speak to the player and we’ll take it from there,” Martin O’Neill told the Aston Villa official website.