I know you're not buying him. I'm saying £2.5m for a loan deal is a bit much to me, as I wouldn't pay more than £5 to buy him.
Actually, I'd say 2.5m for Carson is a good deal, even if it's only for a year. Given that the guy is young and English, and that Gordon just went for £9m, in the current market Scott would probably go for about 12m (even though, as you say, he's only really worth around £5m), which would be for around a four year deal which works out at £3m per year. I know it's twisted logic because you could renew the contract without having to shell out again, but Villa are essentially buying him on a one year deal. £2.5m doesn't sound too bad when you put it in that context, especially seeing as he's likely to help Villa massively this year. And Villa might not be paying his full wages, either.