Aston Villa have experienced a lot of change at the club with the appointment of Unai Emery in October, and now the new manager will go into his first window at the club with a potential transfer target emerging.

What's the latest?

According to Sport 1 (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa are interested in signing Switzerland and Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Djibril Sow in January.

As per the report, Villa will need to compete with West Ham United for the player and it will cost over €30m (£25.8m) to secure his signature ahead of the second half of the season.

It is also claimed that Frankfurt are not keen on selling the player but that could change if there is an offer large enough to tempt them to part ways with Sow when the transfer market reopens next month.

The next Douglas Luiz

The new Villa manager will have a challenge during the transfer window to identify the right players to join the side that can make an instant impact and make genuine improvements in the team.

Douglas Luiz was linked with a move away from Villa Park in the summer transfer window with both Arsenal and Liverpool reportedly interested on Deadline Day, however, the Brazilian midfielder ultimately signed a brand new contract in October tying him into a long-term deal to remain at the club.

Now, Emery could be set to offer the player a great partner in midfield with the signing of Sow who has many attributes and similarities to Luiz that combined could strengthen Villa's midfield.

According to FBref, the 24-year-old is the most comparable positional peer to Sow over the last 12 months with the duo sharing many comparisons in their output over the season so far.

The midfielders came close in their shots on target rate (40% v 37.5%), shot-creating actions (28 v 26), aerial duels won (54.2% v 57.1%) and tackles against dribblers (50% v 56.3%).

Sow - who was dubbed "one to watch" by journalist Sam Smith - has been impressing at the World Cup in Qatar with Switzerland and helped the side progress to the round of 16.

Over four appearances, the talented ace registered one assist and tallied up a seriously impressive 98% pass completion rate in his own half, as well as winning 56% of his aerial and ground duels combined.

With that being said, the signing of Sow could be a great opportunity for Villa to add depth to their midfield as well as providing a high quality partner for Luiz that could bring out the best in both players.