Aston Villa’s post January XI: Targett out, Bissouma in, more depth on bench

Aston Villa have shown that they aren’t messing about this January having been on it with incomings and outgoings since the transfer window first swung itself open 30 days ago.

Last season’s players’ player of the year Matt Targett is on the verge of joining Newcastle United in a move that developed extremely quickly and others such as Jed Steer and Kaine Kesler are also expected to leave the club on loan imminently.

But it’s not the outgoings we’re excited about it’s the ones that may be coming the other way.

The claret & blue haven’t given up on bringing a central midfielder to the club in this window and it’s one that could go all the way down to the wire.

All eyes are on Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma for that one and it’s a deal that could well get done before the day is out.

Targett’s departure also leaves manager Steven Gerrard shorter than he would like in the full-back department so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a new face added there if all goes swimmingly.

Presuming things do, which is rarely the case (but here’s hoping) - here’s how Villa’s squad could look by the end of play on Monday. One word for you. Depth.