Aston Villa dipped into the market for the second time this month earlier this week by securing a deal to sign Jhon Duran from MLS side Chicago Fire.

Unai Emery made the second signing of his tenure in charge of the Villans by swooping to bring the 19-year-old striker to Villa Park, following on from the arrival of Real Betis left-back Alex Moreno.

Duran scored eight goals in 27 MLS appearances throughout 2022 and has been brought in as the club see him as a player with "potential" - making him a long-term asset.

That may not be the end of Villa's business this month as it has been reported that they could attempt to bring in a "more experienced" centre-forward to bolster their ranks before the window slams shut.

Journalist Ryan Taylor recently revealed that Villa were eyeing up a Borussia Monchengladbach striker earlier this season. He told GIVEMESPORT:

“I was actually told there was interest in Marcus Thuram a couple months ago, but weirdly, nothing seems to have come of that. So I don’t know if I was fed rubbish or if there’s just no interest in Thuram at this stage.

“I do think he would be a player that could be really good for Villa, a great fit. Whether he’d be interested in joining is another question altogether.”

Emery could now bring the French international in to make an immediate impact in the Premier League as the gem has been in terrific form in the Bundesliga.

Whilst Duran is yet to play in Europe and could take time to settle in England, Thuram has proven his worth in a major European league by scoring 10 goals in 15 appearances for Gladbach.

The 25-year-old, who was once lauded as a "physical monster" by Herve Renard, could be an upgrade on current Villa striker Ollie Watkins - who has struggled in front of goal this term.

Emery's first-choice centre-forward has found the back of the net three times in 18 appearances in the top-flight. He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.66 and missed nine 'big chances', which indicates that his performance levels have left a lot to be desired.

Thuram, meanwhile, has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.19 in the Bundesliga for Daniel Farke's side and that, alongside his goal return, indicates that the gem could be an upgrade on the ex-Brentford man.

Therefore, Emery could improve his Villa squad by swooping in to sign the French marksman in the next couple of weeks as he could offer more than Watkins in front of goal and in terms of his average performance level.