Aston Villa quietly went about their business during the January transfer window as Unai Emery brought in two new players to bolster his squad.

The Spanish head coach signed Alex Moreno and Jhon Duran, from Real Betis and Chicago Fire respectively, to improve his options in defence and up front, but they could have added a winger to their side last month.

In January, journalist Alan Nixon reported that the Villans were interested in signing Watford forward Ismaila Sarr, who was valued at £25m by his current club.

Fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace were also linked with the attacker but neither team were able to seal a deal for the Senegal international, who is set to remain in the Championship until the end of the season.

Emery must now push Johan Lange to swoop in for the gem again in the summer as bringing the electric dynamo to Villa Park could allow him to sanction the exit of Philippe Coutinho.

The £125k-per-week Brazil international has been in dreadful form in the Premier League this season and his worrying performances suggest that bringing in a new signing to replace him for next season could improve the squad.

Coutinho has failed to produce a single goal or assist in 18 appearances in the English top flight this term. The dud has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.59 - which places him 19th in the squad - and only created 0.4 chances per match.

Sarr, meanwhile, has been in terrific form in the Championship this season with eight goals and five assists - averaging a score of 6.94 - in 25 outings.

The 24-year-old also has Premier League experience under his belt. In the 2021/22 campaign, the forward scored five goals and created one chance per game, whilst averaging a score of 6.77, across 22 appearances in the division.

These statistics show that the Watford gem, who journalist Ashley Preece once hailed as being "unplayable on his day", has the quality to deliver goals and create opportunities at the top level, whilst he is also on fire in the second tier for the Hornets this term.

Meanwhile, Coutinho has struggled badly for Villa in 2022/23, both in terms of his average performance level and his creativity, and bringing Sarr in could allow Emery to bin the Brazil international in the summer.

Therefore, the Villans must pursue a deal to sign the Watford forward at the end of the season as he could be a big upgrade on the ex-Liverpool man based on their respective statistics this term.