Imagine him & McGinn: Gerrard can form "dangerous" Villa duo by signing £34m tank - opinion

Aston Villa will be set to begin their first full season with Steven Gerrard at the helm in the next few weeks following his appointment at the Midlands club last November.

One player in Villa’s ranks who the 42-year-old will undoubtedly be hoping will be an important figure for the team going forward, just as he was last season, is John McGinn.

With 35 league appearances to his name last term, the Scotsman ended the campaign with more successful tackles (61) and more shot-creating actions (96) than any other Villa player.

This highlights just how crucial the 27-year-old is for the Villans in terms of both his defensive talent and attacking output.

While the Premier League club have already brought in a new midfielder in the shape of Boubacar Kamara, there is still time left before the summer transfer window closes for Gerrard to add some more strength and depth to that position.

One midfielder with whom the Villans have been linked and who would give the 42-year-old the opportunity to form a potentially frightening duo alongside McGinn is Ibrahim Sangare.

In 87 appearances for his current club PSV Eindhoven, the Ivorian has found the net five times and delivered six assists.

In his 29 league games for the Eredivisie club last season, the 24-year-old ended the campaign with more interceptions (72) and more successful tackles (64) than any other player at PSV.

From an attacking point of view, only three other PSV players took more shots at goal than Sangare (42), which backs up why he was described as a “dangerous” player in front of goal by analyst Aad de Mos.

This highlights the sattributes that the Ivory Coast international has in common with McGinn and why having the pair together in the same team could be a huge