According to French outlet Foot Mercato, Aston Villa are one of the contenders to sign Serie B outfit Brescia's talented forward Mouhamed Belkheir.
The 20-year-old is being tracked by a number of clubs across Europe, particularly French outfits Caen, Amiens and Strasbourg. He is a player that is in high-demand, which should come as a breath of fresh air to Villa fans.
The Villans have a fairly embarrassing history of spending big money on players that wholly fail to live up to their price tag. Names ranging from Charles N'Zogbia to Ross McCormack are just an indication of Villa's woes in the transfer market.
However, the level of demand for this French-born youngster is a clear sign that the club have learned from their past mistakes. They are tracking a player with a lot of promise, which is clearly showing that they are getting smarter as a club. Quite often, the best purchases are the ones that took time and deliberation in tracking and assessing. Impulsive buys for big names can lead to disaster, as has happened in the past at Villa Park.
If they could land the striker this January, it would be a huge boost to Dean Smith's squad, and will only help their push for promotion. Of course, it may come with negatives as it may suggest the potential departure of Tammy Abraham, who has a number of suitors from the Premier League.
Nonetheless, this is a sign that Aston Villa are going in the right direction with regards to their transfer policy.