Steven Gerrard has had a difficult start to the season at Aston Villa. They have only won once in the Premier League this season, a 2-1 victory over Everton almost a month ago; and despite a credible draw against champions Manchester City, the Midlands side need to start winning, and fast, to avoid a relegation battle.

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The 42-year-old's transfer business was diligent in the summer transfer window, which makes the poor start to the season even more surprising. In came quality additions such as Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos, along with Philippe Coutinho signing on a permanent deal, while Jan Bednarek and Ludwig Augustinsson arrived on season-long loan deals.

It could have been even better, though, with Gerrard missing out on Watford winger Ismaila Sarr despite a fee of £25m being agreed, which represented an excellent deal considering that the Hornets paid £40m to secure his services three years ago, and he would have added something extra to this Villa side.

Villa have struggled so far this term, especially in front of goal, with Gerrard's side only netting four times in their first six Premier League matches.

With far too much stress put on Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins last season as they scored 18 goals between them, it took Coutinho to arrive mid-season and chip in with five goals to alleviate the pressure on the front two.

Over the previous two seasons, Sarr has netted 18 goals and registered a further 12 assists from a right-wing position, proving that he can offer an excellent goal threat, and this is something that Villa needed heading into the 2022/23 campaign, as winger Leon Bailey only scored once last term.

The Senegalese winger has impressed so far this season too, averaging a 6.94 rating from SofaScore while adding four goal contributions in just five Championship games (two goals and two assists).

His game doesn’t just revolve around scoring, despite the winger netting 59 goals in his career - with the 24-year-old creating two big chances and making 0.8 key passes per match, his willingness to produce opportunities for team-mates also makes him stand out.

Current Villa right winger Bailey has scored once and registered one assist this season while averaging 0.7 key passes per match.

These statistics suggest that Sarr could well have been a better option on the right wing at Villa Park than the Jamaican, and for the aforementioned fee of £25m, it would have represented a bargain of sorts, compared to the massively inflated fees being paid.

The 24-year-old's former Watford team-mate Ben Foster has dubbed him “scary” and he was just the type of player that Gerrard needed.

The Villa manager surely he will regret the move not going through, especially if his team's poor start to the campaign continues.