Luke Hatfield from The Express and Star reckons Harry Winks is exactly the type of player Aston Villa are looking to add to their squad.

Dean Smith has already signed Emiliano Buendia from Norwich for a club-record fee, and along with Winks has been linked with Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe and Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse.

12 months ago, Villa added Premier League based players in Emiliano Martinez and Ross Barkley, who both helped Smith's team achieve an 11th-place finish, whilst Ollie Watkins impressed, too.

Villa could lose star man and skipper Jack Grealish to Manchester City, which would raise around £100m for Smith to reinvest in his squad, and Winks is another that has been linked to Villa Park.

The Tottenham midfielder has made 109 Premier League appearances since coming through the ranks but slipped down the pecking order in north London last term and is desperate to be playing more regular football moving forward.

Asked whether Smith means business this summer, Hatfield told The Transfer Tavern:

"Him and those higher up have seen an opportunity in the fact they've improved so much. Last season they put in some great performances.

"Harry Winks hasn't had the last season or two that he would have wanted, but it strikes away at Villa that those are the signings they're trying to make – young, Premier League experience, they really want to add those kinds of players to their side."