Aston Villa have most definitely been the most active Premier League side in the transfer market this month.
Unai Emery has seen incomings and outgoings already occur, with Leandro Dendoncker the latest player to leave the club.
However, the Spaniard's quest to find a new attacker is still progressing, with numerous forwards on his wishlist.
Aston Villa want to bolster their attack
Morgan Rogers has been heavily linked to the Midlands club this month, but according to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb at the beginning of this week, Joshua Zirkzee is their latest transfer target.
However, they will face competition from numerous European giants, such as AC Milan, Arsenal, and Manchester United.
A move in the summer does seem more likely for the Dutch forward, who reportedly boasts a £34m release clause in his contract at the end of the season.
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ByLuke RandallFeb 1, 2024 How Zirkzee compares to Jhon Duran
Jhon Duran only joined Villa in the summer from Chicago Fire for around £17m, but he could be on his way out of Villa Park already. Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing the Colombian, who is frustrated with his lack of game time under Emery, as per football journalist Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph.
The 19-year-old has featured in 23 games across all competitions this season, scoring four goals, but the Spaniard could look to move him on to raise funds for the potential Zirkzee move, in turn ending his short Villa career.
Unlike Duran, Zirkzee has developed into arguably his side's most important player this season, taking on a key role in Bologna's rise up the Serie A table. The 22-year-old has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 22 games this campaign, but a new challenge could be on the horizon.
With that in mind, let's look at Zirkzee's stats from this Serie A campaign, which prove he would be a brilliant signing.
Goals
0.40
Top 40%
xG
0.29
Bottom 65%
Key passes
1.42
Top 24%
Passes completed
20.96
Top 22%
Carries into the final third
1.42
Top 26%
Successful take-ons
1.42
Top 19%
Touches (Mid third)
42.59 (20.11)
Top 15% (Top 12%)
As you can see, Zirkzee is an extremely technical player who moves with elegance despite standing at 6 foot 4, which gives him an extremely unique profile.
Villa currently has nothing alike in attack. The former Bayern player's ability to create using his dribbling, intelligence, and eye for a pass has been labelled as "out of this world" by football analyst Ben Mattinson, with his successful take-ons and key passes statistics supporting that claim.
At Villa, Zirkzee would slot perfectly into the second striker role behind Ollie Watkins because he loves to drop deep, get on the ball, and progress the play, as shown by his touches in the middle third of the pitch and passes completed. Operating in that free-roaming role would allow his creativity to flourish while also enabling him to impact the game with his goal-scoring instincts.
His work rate is also immense, as displayed via his tackles statistic, and his profile would fit perfectly into Emery's system. Sending Duran packing and signing Zirkzee would be an excellent piece of business by Villa.