Aston Villa could be plotting a move to sign Joe Aribo in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to former Villa centre-forward Frank McAvennie, who suggested in a recent interview with Football Insider that, following Steven Gerrard's appointment at Villa Park, the 41-year-old could look to raid his former club for a number of their top talents, with the standout being Aribo.

Speaking about the former Liverpool captain's potential January transfer targets, McAvennie said: "There are a few players who could make that jump. I would be very surprised if Gerrard didn't sign at least one player from Rangers.

"I look at that squad and see a few players who could do it. Joe Aribo stands out to me. He's young enough and has the talent to go down there and do well. £10m is it for him? That's a good deal.

"Aribo could add that spark to the Villa midfield. They have a lot of quality players but they are struggling to create. I would imagine Aribo will be a relatively cheap signing Gerrard could get over the line. He could definitely follow Gerrard and it would be a brilliant move for him."

This is an opinion which has been backed up by The Athletic's Rangers correspondent Jordan Campbell, who stated his belief in the comments section of a recent article that Aribo could well be one of the players that Gerrard looks to bring with him to the Premier League.

Lange must move

It is easy to see why both McAvennie and Campbell believe that Gerrard could look to make a move for Aribo in January, as the 25-year-old developed into an exceptional footballer under the leadership of the new Aston Villa boss during his time at Ibrox.

Indeed, over his 31 Scottish Premiership appearances in Rangers' undefeated title-winning campaign last season, the £5.85m-rated man scored seven goals, registered four assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.5 shots and making 1.2 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player who, according to Gerrard, loved "breaking the rules" average a SofaScore match rating of 7.13, ranking him as Gers' joint seventh-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

Furthermore, aside from his impressive returns in Scotland, the £20k-per-week midfielder's positional versatility - being able to play in central midfield, attacking midfield or on the right wing - would also be extremely useful for Gerrard in the Midlands, helping the 41-year-old to facilitate a switch to his favoured 4-3-3 formation at Villa Park.

As such, it would indeed seem a very smart decision by Johan Lange to sanction a move for the Nigeria international in January, as Aribo very much seems to be a player around whom Gerrard could build his Aston Villa team.

In other news: Purslow could sign Gerrard's next Morelos at Villa with £18m-rated "phenomenon"