Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard previously claimed that the current crop of players in his squad are fighting for their futures at the Midlands club.

With the upcoming summer transfer window on the horizon, the Villans have shown in the past just how proactive they can be in the market when it comes to moving players in and out of the club.

Looking ahead to the summer, one figure that Gerrard may want to have in his side going forward should any of his current players fail to secure their future at Villa Park is Joe Aribo.

Having been mentioned with a move to the Midlands club during the previous January transfer window, the midfielder remained at Rangers instead of following his former manager to the Premier League.

One issue that the Villans have had at times this season is their ability to find the back of the net.

With four defeats on the bounce in their four previous league games, the Villa Park outfit have only scored two goals, conceding nine in the process.

Taking into account how Aribo has racked up a total of 25 goals and 25 assists in 141 appearances for the Scottish club across all competitions, this highlights just how capable he is of not only scoring goals but providing goals for his teammates.

Labelled as being "unplayable" by journalist Oluwashina Okeleji, the 25-year-old has racked up an average of 1.9 key passes per game in the SPFL this season, the joint-third highest of any player in Rangers' squad.

This is also higher than any Villa player has managed to total in their latest Premier League campaign.

With an overall performance rating of 7.29/10 from WhoScored, the midfielder is currently the third-highest rated player in Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side, which would make him the highest-rated player at Villa by the same metric.

The £45k-per-week midfielder has also shown his playmaking talents in the Europa League as well by delivering three assists in 12 appearances.

Moving forward, with the summer window in mind, Johan Lange should definitely consider launching a move for the Nigerian, who Gerrard would surely love to have at his disposal again.

However, with previous reports claiming that fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace are eyeing up a £10m move for the midfield talent this summer, the Villans may have to be ruthless if they want to reunite Aribo with his former manager.

In other news: Forget Young: Gerrard must finally unleash Aston Villa’s £2.5k-p/w “mini Gareth Barry”