Steven Gerrard led Aston Villa to a big win at the weekend, defeating Everton 2-1 in what he will hope is a result that breathes life into his side.

A disappointing Premier league finish last season saw the club undertake a highly impressive transfer window, and with less than three weeks remaining, there is still time to add more faces to his squad.

With Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara, and Philippe Coutinho all adding that extra dimension to the Villa side, Gerrard has big ambitions this season, even if the former is now set to be sidelined for a considerable period of time through injury.

The 42-year-old isn’t done in the market, however, as he looks to find the final pieces of his jigsaw, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Tanguy Ndombele reportedly linked with the club courtesy of reports in France.

If Gerrard is to bring a couple of new bodies into Villa, then there will surely be departures, with Morgan Sanson one of the first that the manager should be looking to ship out, especially as Ndombele could be a big upgrade on the Villa player.

Last season, Ndombele generated 2.20 shot-creating actions per match, compared to a measly 0.76 for Sanson and the Spurs midfielder offered a greater threat going forward, scoring once and registering three assists, with Sanson having zero goal contributions.

It isn’t just in an attacking sense that Ndombele is better, defensively, the 25-year-old has so much more to offer.

He won more tackles (29 to eight), a higher percentage of aerial duels (52.9% to 40%), and made pressures (252 to 135) than the fringe Villa man.

The 120k-per-week star could be the final piece of the Villa side, with defensive and offensive qualities in abundance, he is the type of player that Gerrard now needs to take Villa to the next level and move towards the European spots.

Former Tottenham manager Joes Mourinho once described him as “absolutely phenomenal” following a performance in 2019 and when one of the finest managers of the previous 25 years lavishes praise like this on a player, it's clear they are extremely gifted.

Johan Lange has so far backed Gerrard in the transfer market, but signing Ndombele could send out another statement of intent that they are in the league to challenge for the European places, not just make up the numbers.