Aston Villa are said to be interested in signing Brentford midfielder Christian Eriksen, whose six-month contract expires in the summer.

What's the word?

That is according to a report from Birmingham Mail, who claimed that the 30-year-old's future is to be decided in the coming weeks, with Villa Park named as a potential destination for the Denmark international.

Villa manager Steven Gerrard is reportedly looking to make further signings, following Villa's £17m procurement of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona.

However, Villa may be left with egg on their face in their attempts to sign the former Inter and Tottenham star.

According to a report from BBC, Brentford manager Thomas Frank is "convinced" that Eriksen will stay with the Bees beyond this summer.

In Thursday's news conference, the 48-year-old said (as per BBC Sport): "I know I am optimistic but I also picked up the phone and said, 'Hey, do you want to come to Brentford?'

"No-one thought about that six months ago. I would love to say 100 per cent, but I am convinced there is a good chance he can wear the Brentford shirt." Frank claimed that the situation surrounding Eriksen is win-win for the west London club, saying: "Either he signs with us and everyone is going to be happy and the fans will build a statue of him outside the stadium in two or three years' time, or he goes to a bigger level and fans will applaud him and we will all say, 'Thank you for this time, go forward'."

Gerrard risking disaster over Eriksen

Given Gerrard's intent in strengthening the Villa squad, he will surely be gutted over the latest developments surrounding the 30-year-old, who has registered five attacking returns in the form of one goal and four assists in ten appearances for Brentford this season. After his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020, there were doubts as to whether Eriksen would ever play again, let alone return to his scintillating best. He has done exactly that, registering a match average of 7.29 passes into the final third, with 2.8 key passes per game. Eriksen's 4.69 shot-creating actions are greater than Villa's primary playmaker Emi Buendia, who has maintained a respectable 3.68 shot-creating actions per match. It's worth noting that the Argentine falters in comparison to the aforementioned metrics from the Danish star, averaging 3.08 passes into the final third and 2.24 key passes per game. The £13.5m-rated Eriksen, who has been described as a "magician" by his former Tottenham team-mate Dele Alli, would most certainly enhance Villa's attacking potency with his creativity. However, with Frank confident that he can keep him at Brentford, it's a move which looks to be in doubt for Gerrard's side, which would represent a disastrous missed opportunity for the 41-year-old. In other news - "Gerrard wants": John Percy drops big Villa transfer claim, supporters will be buzzing