Dean Smith is set to make a decision on James Collins in the coming days as the manager looks to sort out his defensive issues ahead of a tricky run of fixtures.

Aston Villa played out to an eventful 5-5 draw with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening and the Claret and Blue boss appears to be worried about the current form of his centre-backs.

The 6 foot 2 defender, who has been training at the Birmingham club since September, played at Villa for three years between 2009 and 2012, making more than a 100 appearances for the club, before signing for resigning for West Ham United.

Collins spent the next six years at the Hammers, being a regular figure in the first-team, before slowly falling out of sorts with former manager David Moyes. The club announced in the summer that the Welshman won't be offered a new contract to stay at London Stadium, which led to the 35-year-old moving to Villa for a trial.

But according to Birmingham Live, are the Villans weighing up the option of signing him on a free transfer as the manager aims for a more stable defensive structure ahead of the January transfer market.

Smith has done a terrific job with Villa, since taking charge in October, moving the club into the top ten. But the last two matches against Birmingham City and Forest, saw James Chester and Axel Tuanzebe exposed at the back, conceding sevens goals in the two fixtures combined.

At the same time, Collins has been preparing behind the scenes with the hope of impressing the manager and it appears as if Smith might fancy him.

“He is still here training with us. He played a game last week, against Yeovil. He is getting minutes and getting closer to me making a decision about him,” said the gaffer this week.

Collins' immense experience would be just what the team need with matches against West Brom, Stoke City and Leeds United coming up in December.