Now that the 2022 January transfer window has opened, this will spark a flurry of potential transfer deals across a range of clubs as they aim to strengthen their squads.

At Aston Villa, it has previously been reported that manager Steven Gerrard will be given the backing from the owners to make whatever changes to the club that he thinks will benefit them in terms of bringing new players in.

With this in mind, it could prove to be a very busy month for the Midlands club, on and off the pitch.

After making just nine Premier League appearances for Villa since joining on loan from Manchester United back in August, and with just eight minutes of league action since Gerrard's took over from Dean Smith as Villa's manager in November, it seems as though Axel Tuanzebe could be on his way out of the club.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently shared a post on his official Twitter account claiming that a deal has been worked out between United and Napoli that will see Tuanzebe spend the rest of the season on loan with the Italian club.

Taking this into account, it could be worth Villa bringing a new defender in to take Tuanzebe's place in the squad so they aren't depleted in that area.

Having been linked with a transfer move for Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez in recent weeks, this update about Tuanzebe could now pave the way for Villa and Gerrard to finally secure a deal for the defender, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £85k-per-week according to Salary Sport, and bring him to Villa Park.

With a total of 82 appearances in the Premier League, Gomez would certainly bring a decent amount of experience with him to Villa as well as an elite winning mentality having won the Premier League and Champions League during his time at Anfield.

Labelled as a "sensational" player in the past by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Gomez has found regular game time in the Premier League hard to come by this season with just three fairly short substitute appearances under his belt so far, which could result in a move to Villa being quite tempting for him if he'd get regular playing time under Gerrard's guidance.

Moving forward, if Tuanzebe is set to leave Villa in the coming days, the club should be turning their attention to securing a deal for Gomez as soon as they can so the team doesn't suffer should any of their other defenders end up with injuries or a positive virus test.

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