Darius Vassell has completed his £2m move to Manchester City from Aston Villa after passing a medical.
City boss Stuart Pearce moved to sign the 25-year-old England striker after the sale of Shaun Wright-Phillips to Chelsea.
But Villa boss David O’Leary denied he was forced to sell Vassell to raise cash to raise the money to sign Liverpool’s Milan Baros.
“It’s not fair to say I had to sell Darius to bring in money. That would be totally unfair on the club,” Villa boss David O’Leary told the club website.
Vassell has scored six goals for England in 22 international appearances.
A statement on City’s official website read: “He is likely to make his first-team debut in one of the coming weekend’s two friendly fixtures, away at either Stoke City or Sheffield Wednesday.”
