Aston Villa have Douglas Luiz, Marvelous Nakamba, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Sanson in midfield, but Steven Gerrard is looking to strengthen his engine room with one more player.

Phil McNulty of BBC Sport said on Sunday that Villa approached Juventus with a view to signing Rodrigo Bentancur and Gerrard hopes to land his signature before the January transfer window shuts.

The 24-year-old joined Juve from Boca Juniors in 2017 and has gone on to make 181 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals with 18 assists. He’s been a regular in Turin, so fans on social media are excited at the prospect of signing him.

Betancur has made 11 chances, won 20/40 aerial duels, had 7/11 successful dribbles, taken eight shots, made 14 clearances, completed 87.5% of 752 passes and averaged a tackle (32) or interception (26) every 20 minutes.

The Uruguayan international is adept at turning over the ball and will be a good defensive midfielder for Villa, so Gerrard will finally have protection in front of the defence.

This is shaping up to be a fantastic transfer window for the Villans, signing Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne from Barcelona and Everton respectively while bringing in Robin Olsen as cover.

In other news, fans on social media say ‘outstanding’ Lucas Digne is a ‘baller’