Considering Martin O'Neill quit Aston Villa just a week before the season due to an apparent lack of funds it is surprising to see Randy Lerner digging out £20million in order for O'Neill's successor, Gerard Houllier, to buy Darren Bent.
I'm guessing the threat of relegation means such an investment is worthwhile – Lerner would lose far more if Villa dropped into the Championship.
Plus Houllier may have convinced the American that Bent could be the final jigsaw in a side that just a few years ago was knocking on the door of the Champions League.
A quick scan at the Villa team and it is clear where their problems lie. They have two attacking wingers in Stewart Downing and Ashley Young and a creative central player in Marc Albrighton, players whose effectiveness is only really felt when there is someone there to finish off the moves they create and people who follow the livescore football action will be fully aware of this.
Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey are both hard-working but not the 20-goal a season forward Villa need while John Carew looks to be on his way out. They need someone to put the ball in the net, simple.
Bent has shown he can do that – he has scored 81 goals in the Premier League since 2005, only Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney have scored more in that time. He is certainly in esteemed company.
His downfall at Sunderland has perhaps been his inability to work with Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck this season. But at Villa he would have no such issues – just convert the midfielder's crosses and he will be doing his job. Don't be surprised to see his name cropping up time and time again on the live scores goalwire over the remains of the season.
Villa are certainly paying a premium for the striker because he is English, it seems any home-based players has £6million lumped on his price tag. Plus I'm sure Bent will do well out of this deal as well.
The 'mercenary' tag will no doubt but slapped on him by the disgruntled Black Cats support who see a player swapping a European push for a relegation battle in order to get a 30 per cent pay rise.
But given their precarious league position and the level of service begging to be finished off, Bent could prove to be a perfect fit at Villa Park.
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