Aston Villa have had a rather inconsistent start to their Premier League campaign, and the Villa Park faithful will be hoping that the autumn appointment of Unai Emery will help to stabilise the squad and improve performances on the pitch.

Indeed, the supporters have already had a glimpse of the positive transformation which could be taking flight under the former Villarreal manager's reign, with two victories secured against Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion ahead of the World Cup break.

Despite winning crucial points in the Premier League to now put them 12th in the table, there is still a long way to go in the campaign, and changes are still needed at the Midlands club when they return to action after Christmas.

Although Emery hasn't been afforded enough time to really get an understanding of his squad's individual capabilities in competitive fixtures due to the pause in club football over the last month, he will be given the opportunity to make changes at Villa Park in just a couple of weeks' time when the January transfer window opens.

One player who is reportedly a priority target for Emery is France and Borussia Monchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram, who lit up Qatar with his national team at the World Cup.

The talented forward captured the attention of the world whilst playing a part in Les Bleus' second consecutive World Cup final last Sunday in a nail-biting clash against Argentina which went all the way down to penalties.

Although France were unable to defend their world title, Thuram can be proud of the performances that he put in over the tournament, which has led to a number of clubs vying for his signature in January - including Villa.

In five World Cup appearances, the French forward delivered two assists, completed 60% of his dribbles and won 54% of his duels, but it's not just on the international stage that Thuram has been performing superbly.

In the Bundesliga prior to the tournament, the Gladbach ace - who was dubbed "world-class" by his Wolfsburg sporting director Marcel Schafer - has scored ten goals, registered three assists and created three big chances, completing 1.5 dribbles and winning 4.6 duels per game across 15 appearances.

Emery already has a number of forwards at his disposal at Villa Park, with Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendia and Philippe Coutinho competing for places in the forward line. However, it is clearly difficult for the Villa boss to ignore Thuram's prolific goalscoring record and his measly price tag of only £8.5m.

Signing him for that amount would be an absolute steal for Villa if they could secure his services in the New Year, and if he could emulate his form in Germany upon a move to the Premier League, it would put Emery's side in a great position to compete for a top-half finish this season.

It would also have Villa Park rocking with excitement, in stark contrast to the sulphurous mood which surrounded the dying embers of Steven Gerrard's reign in October.