Sources: Gerrard now has 13-goal striker on Aston Villa radar; 26 y/o "class act" also a target

Aston Villa could be one of the Premier League’s dark horses in the transfer market this summer. Deals for Philippe Coutinho, Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara highlight the club’s ambition, while Steven Gerrard will be keen to really make his mark at Villa Park during a first off-season at the helm.

Dean Jones has provided GIVEMESPORT with a must-read guide for Aston Villa’s transfer window.

Everywhere – they might even sign a new captain! Steven Gerrard is looking to lift the level of the side in every area and it means almost no one in the current squad is safe from new competition for the shirt.

They want to raise the bar as much as possible – hence the very early announcements on Coutinho, Kamara and Carlos. In terms of central midfield, it was clear that Gerrard wanted to sign someone with a solid reputation and the position has also now been fixed with Boubacar Kamara arriving from Marseille. It’s an unbelievable start to the window.

We should not totally rule out the idea of another midfielder arriving but it is unlikely to be someone at the level of Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips or Brighton’s Yves Bissouma. Possibly Glen Kamara of Glasgow Rangers is still in mind though, with Gerrard previously labelling the 26-year-old as a “class act”.

Perhaps the strangest link so far has been James Rodriguez, who does not seem to fit the type of player Gerrard would be looking for.

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They already have them: Coutinho, Carlos and Kamara. The vision of Villa is to become the best of the rest. Breaking into the top six is extremely ambitious but being that seventh club – competing with teams like West Ham and Wolves – is realistic. In