Aston Villa owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris have shown just how capable they are of spending significant amounts of money on bringing new players to Villa Park to help strengthen the team however they can.

Looking ahead to the upcoming summer transfer window, it seems as though the Midlands club could be set to smash through the £33m club-record fee they spent during the previous summer window on Emi Buendia from Norwich City, this time to add another familiar face to the squad.

What's the news?

According to a recent report from The Times, Villa have emerged as the frontrunner to sign Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips this summer and are ready to pay a £60m transfer fee, plus an enormous salary to get him from the Yorkshire club.

As a product of Leeds' youth academy, the Englishman, who has been described as a "destroyer" by Steve McLaren, has racked up a total of 226 senior appearances for the Whites across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and providing 13 assists along the way.

Villa must sign Phillips

In his first season in the Premier League with Leeds last season after their 16-year absence from the top-flight, the 26-year-old earned himself an overall performance rating of 7.01 according to WhoScored.

That made him their fourth-highest rated outfield player, highlighting just how capable he is of playing in the top division at a solid and consistent level.

Regarding a potential big-money move to Villa, taking into account how the Midlands club were in the market for a midfielder in the previous January transfer window but failed to get one in after missing out on Rodrigo Bentancur and having a bid rejected for Yves Bissouma, it's easy to see why the Villans have set their sights on Phillips for the summer.

Labelled as having the "perfect build" for the defensive-midfield position by former Leeds boss Neil Redfearn, the £38k-per-week England international could be just what Villa need for their squad after their January setbacks.

Securing Phillips in the summer could be a dream deal for NSWE to complete and would be one that surely raises the roof given his outstanding qualities and indeed his pedigree, starting every game for England on route to the European Championships last summer.

With the £36m-rated Leeds star previously saying that he would "love to play" with Gerrard during his playing days, perhaps the prospect of having him as a manager could sway the 26-year-old in making a move to Villa Park.

In other news: Lange heading for calamitous AVFC howler on “first-class” ace, Gerrard would be raging - opinion