Aston Villa must sign Atletico Madrid star Mario Hermoso amid a recent transfer update.

What's the story?

According to Spanish publication Fichajes (via Sport Witness), Dean Smith's side have joined the likes of fellow Premier League teams Everton and Arsenal in being interested in luring Hermoso to England.

The report adds that while Atletico haven't yet put the centre-back on the transfer market just yet, they would be open to listening to sizeable offers for him this summer.

Better than Tyrone Mings

Currently valued at £34m by CIES, Hermoso is every bit the modern-day ball-playing central defender that clubs nowadays tend to want.

Analysis from Robbie Dunne called his passing "dangerous", and when you look at some of the stats, it's easy to see why.

According to stats website FBREF, the Spaniard ranks in the 93rd percentile for passes into the final third and in the 97th percentile for progressive passes across Europe's top five leagues - a real indication of just how comfortable he is on the ball, and why he's not someone who simply 'stat pads' by choosing the safe option.

Compare that to Mings who's only in the 65th percentile for passes into the final third, and the 61st percentile for progressive passes.

And it's not just his use of possession that is far superior to the England international either.

As per Whoscored, Hermoso also averaged an impressive 1.8 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game in La Liga last season for Atletico Madrid, while Mings could only manage 0.9 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per match in the Premier League.

Given that he's also left-footed, superb on the ball, and seemingly better than Mings in all the key areas, Hermoso seems like the kind of player Smith would love to have at Villa Park.

Meanwhile, Villa have hijacked a move for this star...