The Sun reports that 24 year-old West Ham United striker Dean Ashton will sign a new 5-year deal worth £13 million (£50,000 per week).

“The striker is expected to OK a five-year deal worth around £50,000 a week. Ashton, 24, is finally ready to commit himself after lengthy negotiations and it will confirm he has settled his differences with boss Alan Curbishley.

The player, who has battled back from a serious broken ankle, had two years left on his current deal — worth around £13,000 a week.”

Though he may not be the most exciting striker in the league to watch, he had quite an effective season for the Hammers. He netted an average of about 1 goal per 3 matches, highlighted by that fantastic overhead kick against Man United. Rumours were swirling around Ashton this summer, and many papers fancied an £11 million switch to Newcastle for the promising player. He was clearly unhappy with the deal he had, which had players such as super-flop Freddie Ljungberg earning substantially more money. There were also stories that he was not seeing eye-to-eye with boss Alan Curbishley. This report surely puts all those rumours to bed.

The more interesting question is whether he is worth the money he is making. With the way that footballers get paid today, I think this is a decent deal for West Ham. When compared to the £80,000 that Portsmouth are reportedly prepared to pay Liverpool benchwarmer Peter Crouch, some might even call this a bargain. I would not go that far. So, what’s the word on Ashton? Good signing? Overpaid? Bargain?