Steven Gerrard is intent on reuniting with Rangers left-back Borna Barisic at Aston Villa, according to The Mirror (via Daily Record).

The lowdown

According to WhoScored, the 29-year-old has been Rangers' fourth-best performer this season, averaging a rating of 7.16/10.

He has 2.3 chances per 90 minutes in the Scottish Premiership, second only to full-back colleague James Tavernier (3.9) at Ibrox. He exceeds every Aston Villa player for that metric, with Douglas Luiz leading the way in the Midlands with 1.6 key passes per game.

Croatia team-mate Josip Brekalo has hailed Barisic's performances as 'excellent', describing him as a 'high-quality player'.

He isn't the only Gers player with whom Villa have been linked since Gerrard took over, with Glen Kamara also reported to be a target if the 41-year-old chooses to raid his former club.

The latest

The Mirror claimed (via Daily Record) that Gerrard would like to improve upon his existing options at left-back.

Barisic has emerged as a target, with an £8m move potentially on the cards when the January transfer window opens.

The verdict

What's interesting is that incumbent left-back Matt Targett seemed to make a positive first impression in Gerrard's first game against Brighton on Saturday.

He was the SofaScore man of the match after an 8.1/10 display which saw him win 80% of his ground duels (and 75% overall), make seven tackles and create three chances.

However, the new manager still feels the need to strengthen that area of the squad, suggesting that Targett may need to keep producing top performances if he is to retain his place.

In other news, this Villa trio struggled on Gerrard's managerial debut