The January transfer window is just under two months away from opening and new Aston Villa manager Unai Emery may already be plotting his first moves in charge of the club.
He could be working to identify targets to bolster his squad for the second half of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign as he attempts to stamp his own mark at Villa Park.
Emery has had the pleasure of working with some sensational attacking talents throughout his career; including the likes of David Villa, Kylian Mbappe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Edinson Cavani, and Neymar.
And he could now land his new Mbappe for Aston Villa by securing a deal to sign Eden Hazard from La Liga giants Real Madrid at the start of 2023.
It was recently reported that the Villans and Newcastle United are interested in signing the winger, who Zinedine Zidane once dubbed "spectacular", on loan with an obligation to sign him permanently next summer, with a fee in the region of €20m (£17m) being touted.
Mbappe scored 21 goals and provided 16 assists in 44 matches for Paris Saint-Germain during his time with the Spanish head coach in France, a stunning record for a player who is now truly an elite talent.
Hazard, who is a right-footed left winger like the Frenchman, has the potential to put up similar numbers for Villa if he can recapture his best form after a difficult spell in Spain.
The 31-year-old has produced seven goals and 11 assists in 72 outings for Real Madrid after enjoying a phenomenal spell with Chelsea in England.
He racked up 85 goals and 61 assists in 245 Premier League outings during his spell with the Blues - scoring 110 times in 352 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The wing wizard, who was described as a "superstar" by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, scored 16 goals and assisted 15 in 37 matches in the English top-flight in the 2019/20 campaign before signing for Real.
This shows that he has the quality to produce Mbappe-esque numbers for Emery at Villa, becoming the manager's next version of the France star by lighting up the Premier League in the Midlands during the second half of this season.
The former Villarreal head coach has proven that he can get the best out of elite forwards, with seven players (20 or more goals) averaging at least a strike every other game for him during his career so far, and could get the ex-Chelsea man back on track.
Therefore, Villa must swoop to sign Hazard in January as Emery has the potential to get the best out of the Belgium international, which would result in the club having a terrific goalscorer and creator on their hands.