Aston Villa manager Unai Emery will be eager to strengthen his side during the January transfer window, with the aim of steering the club to a top-half Premier League finish very much achievable.

Despite opening his Villa career with two league wins from three matches, there are still vast improvements to be made, especially in the attacking departments.

Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins have scored just nine goals between them across all competitions this season and Emery will be eyeing up a forward or two in January.

Indeed, the club have recently been linked with a move for Lyon striker Moussa Dembele as the Frenchman has fallen out of favour at the Ligue 1 side.

His form this season has been patchy, to say the least, scoring just twice across all competitions, although Emery could potentially rejuvenate the player by luring him to the Premier League.

Dembele is also statistically similar to Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, meaning he could be an incredible addition to the Villa side, especially considering the Serie A star has scored ten times this season.

According to FBref, the Nigerian international is the first-most similar player to Dembele across Europe’s top leagues and this is certainly not a bad comparison to have.

This season has seen the two strikers register very similar statistics when it comes to shots on target per match (1.50 to 1.25), goal-creating actions (4 to 2) and aerial duel success (53.6% to 49%).

Dembele also ranks in the top 15% across the big five leagues in Europe for non-penalty goals, total shots and touches in the attacking penalty area, proving that despite his relatively lacklustre goalscoring rate this season, he has managed to contribute heavily in other areas.

His former Celtic boss, Brendan Rodgers, once dubbed the striker as “powerful” and the £69k-per-week player would surely thrive in the Premier League.

Emery landing his very own Osimhen in Dembele would represent a solid January transfer window, with the Frenchman aiming to recapture the form which saw him score 69 goals in just 156 appearances for the Ligue 1 side since joining in 2018.