Aston Villa suffered a disappointing defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Tuesday evening and the loss may see Unai Emery dive back into the transfer market.
The Midlands side has already agreed a £15m deal to sign Middlesbrough winger Morgan Rogers, and the youngster will hopefully sign on the dotted line on Wednesday.
The Spaniard will be aiming to bring in at least one other player to aid his cause, especially with the club looking to end their 28-year major trophy drought in the coming months.
Aston Villa could make another signing after Morgan Rogers
The chase for Rogers dominated the headlines at the club over the previous couple of weeks and Emery will be relieved to have gotten a deal over the line.
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With his attacking options bolstered, could the 52-year-old now make a move for a defender?
According to reports from Spain earlier this month, Villa are showing interest in Atlético Madrid defender Mario Hermoso ahead of making a potential late move for the Spaniard.
The 28-year-old's contract expires this summer and this could tempt the Villa boss to make a move for him in the dying embers of the transfer window to give his defence a boost.
The former Espanyol man could even turn out to be an upgrade on Clement Lenglet in the process.
The stats that prove Mario Hermoso is an upgrade on Clement Lenglet
The on-loan Barcelona defender has not quite had the impact many expected at Villa Park this term, playing just 12 games in all competitions.
Having remained on the bench for his first 14 Premier League matches this term, Lenglet has started the previous five league matches for Villa, yet they have secured just one win in that time, conceding nine goals.
On the other hand, Hermoso has started 18 of Atletico’s 20 La Liga games and is a key member of the squad.
Indeed, the 5 foot 11 Spaniard has not only made more tackles per game than Lenglet (1.6 vs 1.4) domestically, but he has also made more interceptions per game (1.1 vs 0.6), recovered more balls per game (6.3 vs 2.8) and has completed more accurate passes in the opposition half per game (23.3 vs 23) and these statistics indicate that he could be a more useful option than the 28-year-old Villa centre-back.
Football writer Zach Lowy lauded him as a “revelation” a few years ago and Emery could certainly bring the best out of him alongside Pau Torres at the heart of the Villa defence.
It is clear that the former Arsenal manager does not place much trust in Lenglet considering how often he has featured in the Premier League and a move for Hermoso could bolster their backline.
He will be hoping that the defeat to Newcastle is just a blip and that they can consolidate a top-four spot in the table over the coming weeks.
With an FA Cup replay against Chelsea approaching along with European matches to come in March, Emery must improve his squad depth between now and the end of the transfer window.