Aston Villa have started the season in excellent form with 3 wins to report from their opening 3 fixtures, but they should certainly not be tempted to rest on their laurels in the transfer market despite their promising start. 

There's plenty of reason for Steve Bruce to be optimistic for the future after watching his side begin the season in such promising form, but the club's lack of firepower remains a problem which needs to be addressed before the loan window slams shut at the end of August.

And one players who Bruce should certainly be interested in bringing to Villa Park is Southampton's Shane Long, as the level of competition at St Mary's could well leave him surplus to requirements this season.

The Saints already had plenty of options available with Charlie Austin and Manolo Gabbiadini at the club, but the recent arrival of Danny Ings from Liverpool has added an extra layer of competition which will surely make Long redundant.

With that in mind, Villa should capitalise on the situation as Long possesses both the determination and poachers instinct to become a huge success at Villa Park.

At the spearhead of the attack Villa will be guaranteed relentless running in behind and hassling of opponents, as well as an ability to take aim from a variety of angles both in and around the penalty area.

Not only is Long stacked with Premier League experience, he also has plenty of Championship experience to his name with 123 career appearances in which he bagged 39 goals and provided 20 assists.

A goal every 192 minutes is extremely impressive for a player at any level of the game, and if Long was able to replicate that type of form at Villa there's no doubt he could finish the season close to the 20-goal mark.

There are plenty of talented centre-forwards who Bruce would presumably like to bring to the club this summer, but Long's situation at St Mary's suggests that he will be both available and willing to leave before August 31st, so he should be at the top of his priority list during the final stages of the window.

Aston Villa fans - thoughts? Let us know below!