Aston Villa have often struggled at the back despite having a seemingly solid selection of defenders to choose from.

Steven Gerrard acted quickly in the summer, swooping for Diego Carlos as soon as the window opened.

Perhaps he could dip into the market once more to create a formidable defence plucked from two big European clubs, as a statement of intent for the Birmingham club.

In the process, he could finally bin off Tyrone Mings, who has plagued the Villains with his stream of mistakes.

Pete O’Rourke had the following to say back at the start of July on a potential move for Alessio Romagnoli:

“I think Aston Villa are an attractive option to play for right now. You’ve seen the success they’ve had in luring Philippe Coutinho to the Premier League, obviously, they are among the biggest spenders now in the Premier League as well.

“The owners are backing Steven Gerrard in the transfer market with finances. Diego Carlos was also a big signing from Sevilla, so I think Aston Villa right now are an ambitious club seemingly going places. So, I’m sure that will be attractive to a lot of players, including Romagnoli.”

Last season, the 27-year-old captained AC Milan to their first Serie A title since 2010/11. Whilst he struggled with injury, he still managed an average SofaScore rating of 7.06. He is a leader, and far outperforms that of Mings’ 6.91 rating last term.

Likened to Lukas Klostermann and Ibrahima Konate on FBref, he has every chance of taking the Premier League by storm.

The £106k-per-week goliath boasted an 88.3% pass completion last season alongside making 1.9 tackles, 1.75 interceptions winning and 3.2 aerials per 90 last time out.

He is a defensive powerhouse with the capability to progress his team up the field, whereas Mings loses possession 10.3 times and made one mistake that led to a goal.

His teammate Fikayo Tomori labelled him one of “two great champions” in the Milan squad, and Gerrard should swoop to get this highly-rated powerhouse at Villa and replace Mings.

AND in other news: Gerrard can now axe "underwhelming" flop as Villa plot bid for "emphatic" £30m target