Aston Villa have enjoyed an impressive summer of recruitment thus far, with five major signings having been completed already, although one area to address remains that of centre-forward.

The belief is that Steven Gerrard is on the hunt for a new addition up top before the September 1st deadline, with his forward line having suffered from a shortage of goals last term - Ollie Watkins finished as the club's top scorer with just 11 goals in all competitions, four clear of his closest contender.

With doubts also surrounding the future of £25m man Danny Ings, a new recruit to help bolster the front line could well be needed, with recent reports having named Juventus gem Moise Kean as one potential figure who could be arriving at Villa Park.

The 22-year-old is currently midway through a two-year loan deal at the Serie A club from Everton, having returned to Turin last summer after failing to make his mark with the Merseysiders, who signed him from the Old Lady on an initial £29m deal in 2019.

That scenario would make it a complex deal for Villa to pull off, with Max Allegri's side reportedly having a £24m obligation to buy, although it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the forward could arrive in the Midlands, should the Italian outfit wish to cash in once their own agreement is met.

The Bianconeri could well be willing to offload the Italy international after a disappointing return to the Allianz Stadium, with Kean netting just six goals in 42 games for the club all competitions during the 2021/22 campaign.

That may be a point of concern to those of a Villa persuasion, although the £21.6m-rated gem previously blossomed while on loan at Paris Saint-Germain in 2020/21. He bagged 17 goals across all fronts for the star-studded Ligue 1 side, with his then-manager Thomas Tuchel dubbing him "courageous" and "fearless" following his impressive impact.

Also dubbed "electric" by journalist Mina Rzouki, the 12-cap machine did struggle during his previous stint in England at Goodison Park - scoring just four goals in 39 games for the Toffees - although the Villans can be encouraged by his likeness to a certain Tammy Abraham.

According to FBRef, the two strikers share a number of statistical and stylistic similarities, with that comparison no doubt set to raise a few eyebrows such is the Englishman's standing with Villa.

Having signed on loan from Chelsea in 2018, Abraham went on to play a crucial role in helping to secure promotion under Dean Smith, scoring a ridiculous tally of 26 goals in 42 games for the then-Championship side.

He has since gone from strength to strength - aside from a brief, frustrating spell under the aforementioned Tuchel last year - after netting 15 Premier League goals during the 2019/20 season while back at Stamford Bridge, before enjoying a real standout campaign last time out at current club Roma, scoring 27 goals in all competitions for Jose Mourinho's side.

Now reportedly worth as much as £100m, the one-time Bristol City loanee is blossoming on the European stage, with those at Villa perhaps wishing he could have stayed longer than just a solitary season at the club.

However, turning to Kean could well see sporting director Johan Lange secure Abraham 2.0, and that is undoubtedly a mouthwatering prospect.

AND in other news, Lange eyeing Villa move for £30m “goalscoring machine”, he’d be their own Darwin Nunez...