Aston Villa have picked up three points from their first three Premier League games of the season and there is no doubt Steven Gerrard will want to improve upon their current form, with Pete O'Rourke revealing exactly what the club needs in the final week of the transfer window.

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Journalist Pete O'Rourke has revealed the "top player" that Aston Villa should sign to improve their team over the season ahead.

Speaking to Football FanCast, O'Rourke claimed:

"He's a top player Otavio, he was linked with Liverpool earlier in the window quite strongly as well as Arsenal so he's got great pedigree, he's played Champions League, he can score goals and create goals, Villa do need somebody who can do that because they don't score enough goals.

"They're too dependent on Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings to get them the goals, so bringing in someone like Otavio could maybe help ease the burden on them as well."

Gerrard could form a deadly trio

After losing two of their first three Premier League games so far there are certainly many areas of concern for the Villa boss, but the signing of Otavio could certainly improve the quality and goal-scoring opportunities in the forward line.

Villa have had 40 shots on goal, 11 on target but have only managed to convert three, whilst already conceding six, so there is no doubt there is an opportunity there to find a player who can not only offer creativity but better finishing too.

Otavio has scored 24 goals and delivered an impressive 62 assists over 239 appearances for Porto with a goal contribution every 197 minutes played, proving that he could be a very valuable asset in the Villa team and certainly improve their current attacking threat.

When you compare the Portuguese talent, who comes with a £38m price tag, to Emi Buendia, Jacob Ramsey, Philippe Coutinho and Leon Bailey over last season, Otavio comes out on top in many areas of creative play.

Otavio contributed more assists (9) in fact he delivered more than Ramsey, Bailey and Coutinho combined (6), completed more crosses (74) and had more shots in total (44) than everyone other than Coutinho (66), as per FBref.

The versatile talent can effectively play in a number of attacking positions including right midfield, attacking midfield, right or left wing and has even been dubbed the "perfect fit" for Aston Villa by PGR Analytics to suit their narrow style of play in the attacking third.

As a result, Gerrard could form a deadly attacking trio with Otavio delivering the creativity and high-quality goal-scoring opportunities to both Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins if the club can secure a deal before Deadline Day next Thursday.