According to Spanish outlet La Grada Online, Aston Villa are interested in signing Espanyol midfielder Marc Roca.

What's the word?

Following Espanyol's relegation to the second tier of Spanish football last season, it looks as though they are willing to let Roca go before the transfer window deadline on Monday.

La Grada Online claims that Roca has been granted permission to miss training in order to avoid any potential injuries, and that his club are hoping to get around £10m for his sale.

Villa's own Xabi Alonso

Whilst Espanyol may have gone down last season, Roca, a Spain U21 international, was one of the shining lights of their campaign. A tough-tackling holding midfielder, the 23-year-old blends his physical style with a touch of class whilst on the ball.

As per Whoscored, he averaged an impressive 2.3 tackles per game in La Liga - a stat that ranked him 11th among all players in the division - and boasted an average of 47.7 passes per match.

Spanish football expert and pundit, Guillem Balague, raved about his abilities a couple of seasons ago, saying: "He is very good, his braveness, he’s not scared, he goes box to box but can also play positional football. He’s got quality as not too much a holding midfielder, but in front of the holding midfielder. He's a big Espanyol fan, so I hope he remains at the club."

With Espanyol seemingly keen on letting him go, Roca's stay at the club may not be for much longer. And when you look at the kind of player he could develop into at Villa, then Dean Smith may be onto the club's own Xabi Alonso.

The former Liverpool man was a typical Spanish play-maker, dictating things from deeper in midfield, and being capable of pinging 60-yard diagonal balls. Roca himself has previously admitted to idolising Alonso, saying: "From a very young age, I wanted to be like him. He’s an amazing player, and I hope one day to get close to what he did because I think he’s one of the best midfielders in history."

Villa could land a major coup by signing him before Monday.