Aston Villa could be about to solve one of their biggest issues and it involves swooping back into the Championship for another potential star...

What's the word?

According to Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, the Midlands outfit are in talks with Bristol City over a deal for their winger Niclas Eliasson.

The 24-year-old is entering the final year of his contract at Ashton Gate and has previously been linked with a big move to Scottish champions Celtic, who reportedly had a 'substantial' bid rejected during the January transfer window.

Meanwhile, BristolLive claim that a sale "seems almost inevitable" this summer.

Assist-king on the wing

A new winger certainly seems to be high on the agenda for Dean Smith with Premier League action only two weeks away, and dipping back into the English game would certainly help the player's availability for the return as they may not have to quarantine.

Not only that, but Eliasson could also fulfil a massive gap in Villa's side.

Aside from talismanic skipper Jack Grealish, the likes of Anwar El Ghazi, Trezeguet and Jota only combined for a total of six assists all season, thus displaying a lack of creativity.

Well, that's where the young Swede comes in after he doubled that total on his own, providing a whopping 12 assists in just 18 Championship starts. He also netted three goals and averaged 1.7 crosses, 1.5 key passes and 1.2 dribbles, as per WhoScored.

Only Ahmed Elmohamady comes close for deliveries, managing just 1.1 per game last term.

The PFSA go onto laud his crossing ability further and also mention his "crafty movement" as another key asset to his game, and with Eliasson able to play on either wing due to his two-footed nature, he'd certainly be a welcome threat at Villa Park.

According to his old manager Lee Johnson, the 24-year-old is "one of the best" in the division, so Johan Lange should absolutely press ahead with a move for the £3.6m-rated enigma.

AND in other news, Villa move for "unbelievable" PL flop would be shades of Scott Sinclair...