Aston Villa suffered yet another Premier League defeat at the weekend, this time to West Ham, as they slipped to 15th in the table.

The 1-0 loss marked the club’s third league defeat from four matches this season and gives Steven Gerrard another conundrum to fix before deadline day.

With the loss of Diego Carlos to injury until at least next year, Gerrard is eyeing a move for another centre-back to cover the Brazilian's absence, with Jan Bednarek and Abdou Diallo linked amongst others.

Having only scored three goals in four matches, however, a new problem has developed: a worrying lack of creative input in the team.

This needs to be resolved soon or Gerrard could be under severe pressure. Thus, a move for Portuguese talent Otavio could alleviate his problems and add some dynamism to his midfield, ensuring the Villans end the window with an almighty bang.

Villa scouts were present at Porto’s 3-0 win over Sporting Lisbon recently and with the move for Watford winger Ismaila Sarr breaking down, a move for Otavio makes a lot of sense.

Although Journalist Pete O’Rourke believes it might take something special for the club to secure the “phenomenal” player’s signature. Speaking to This is Futbol, he said:

“I think it’d be a big fee for Aston Villa because Porto don’t really want to lose him.

“It’s going to be an interesting one to see what Villa do for attacking reinforcements before the window closes.”

Porto could do business at around the £38m mark and this seems pricey but it could well revive Villa’s season.

Last season, Otavio played 41 matches in all competitions, scoring three times and registering nine assists, which was three more than the highest Villa player (Buendia and Ings with six).

Although mainly deployed as a right midfielder, he can be effective on the right wing, especially with his crossing ability. For instance, he delivered 87 balls into the opposition box last season, a tally that was only bettered by Matty Cash (94) at Villa Park. As a result, this would give the likes of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings plenty of chances to grab more goals to send them soaring up the table.

With 5.17 shot-creating actions per 90, Otavio also presents a goal threat himself, something that is needed from the Villa midfield to take the pressure off the two forwards. After all, no player in Gerrard's ranks last term managed anywhere close to that level, with Bertrand Traore sitting top on 4.50 and Philippe Coutinho in second with 3.66 per 90 minutes.

The Villa boss needs to ignite a bit of life into his side otherwise they could slip further and further into danger. Therefore, a move for the 27-year-old would certainly see them end their transfer window in stunning fashion as they bid to turn their fortunes around.