According to a recent report from The Sun, Aston Villa are eyeing up a January move for striker Neal Maupay. The 22-year-old currently plays his football at fellow Championship outfit Brentford and has done so since leaving Saint-Etienne back in 2017, with his excellent goal-scoring form for the Bees seemingly attracting the interest of former boss Dean Smith, now in charge at Villa Park.

And that’s because reports suggest that the Villans are interested in a January move for the £4.5 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) - a deal which would leave Villa fans soon forgetting about fellow striker Tammy Abraham, who looks set to leave the club for top-flight side Wolves this month.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, England international Abraham made the move to Villa Park on loan from Premier League giants Chelsea during the summer in a bid for the first team football he was unlikely to get at Stamford Bridge, with the 21-year-old going on to really produce the goods for the Midlands giants.

The former Bristol City and Swansea City forward has scored a staggering 16 goals in just 20 Championship appearances for the Villans this term in their run to tenth place in the table, a tally which also sees the striker head the goal-scoring charts alongside Sheffield United front man Billy Sharp.

And that form has seemingly attracted the interest of top-flight outfit Wolves as they seek the firepower needed to keep them in the Premier League, with a deal reportedly on the table for Abraham to end his Villa loan early in a bid to make the move across the Midlands.

And while that would surely come as a huge blow to manager Smith and the Villa supporters, they would soon forget about the 21-year-old were the club to seal a deal for Brentford’s Maupay, who has also excelled in the Championship this term.

The 22-year-old only made the move to Brentford back in 2017 while Smith was at the helm at Griffin Park, and he has since been an absolute revelation with 28 goals in 72 games for the Bees, 15 of which have come in 24 Championship appearances this time round.

And with six assists in that time, the France Under-21 international has directly contributed to well over half the goals Brentford have scored in the second tier this term - not only does he score goals, but he also creates them as well.

And while that tally of 15 is one less than Villa’s Abraham, it’s clear that Smith knows exactly how to get the very best out of Maupay given he scored 12 times in the second tier last time round, and ten of his 15 goals this term came under Smith prior to his move to Villa in October - that can only be good news for Villa in their quest for promotion this season.

Thus, while the imminent exit of Abraham is sure to come as a blow to the Villans, the Villa Park faithful would soon forget about the 21-year-old were Smith to reunite with Maupay at the Midlands heavyweights.

Aston Villa fans… what do you think? Let us know!