Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is certainly asserting his own stamp on the team, signing Jhon Duran and Alex Moreno while shipping out 30-year-old Danny Ings for £15m which is a solid piece of business by the Spaniard.

This is surely just the start and with less than two weeks left of the transfer window, Emery will be pushing for at least one or two further additions to give his side some much-needed depth.

Villa have been linked with a move for French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi according to news outlet L'Equipe (via Sport Witness) and the club have started ‘concrete’ discussions with his representatives with Emery aiming to secure a move for the midfielder.

Journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that Marseille are set to demand €50m (£44m) in order for any potential move to happen and if they do manage to lure him to the Premier League, Villa could repeat their Boubacar Kamara masterclass from last summer in the process.

Repeat Kamara masterclass

Previous manager Steven Gerrard signed Kamara on a free transfer in the summer having excelled at Marseille and he has gone on to become one of the first names on the teamsheet under Emery.

The 23-year-old currently ranks as Villa’s fifth-best performer this season, despite playing only 13 league matches and he has averaged 58.1 touches of the ball while registering one assist, although it is his defensive abilities that have shone through during his time on the pitch.

The Frenchman has made 2.9 tackles, 1.3 clearances and 0.6 interceptions per match while also winning 5.7 duels per game - at a success rate of 57% - and he has been an integral part of Villa’s recent resurgence.

Guendouzi has been in sparkling form since swapping the Emirates for the south of France, achieving a solid Sofascore rating of 6.93/10 across 17 appearances in Ligue 1 this season.

He has impressed with his passing ability - averaging an 88% success rate - while also offering an attacking threat, registering four goal contributions, making 0.8 key passes per match, and creating two big chances for Marseille.

His spell at Arsenal was underwhelming to say the least, but he has finally found his feet back in France and a second chance to succeed in the Premier League could be too good to turn down for the man once described as a “warrior” by Robert Pires.