It's been a very tough summer for Aston Villa who have fell into a financial crisis after their play-off final defeat to Fulham.

The club were served a winding up order by HMRC after missing a payment and further trouble lies ahead if funds aren't raised in the coming week.

Steve Bruce knows that all his key players will be sold, including Jack Grealish, James Chester and Albert Adomah, along with many more.

Yet, the experienced boss won't be allowed to reinvest that money into the team, such is the dire situaiton the club find themselves in.

However, he will hope that changes as the window progresses and Bruce will have his eye on several players that he could move for before the deadline.

Here we look at three Championship players that would relish the chance to move to Villa Park and could improve what will be a depleted squad...

The giant defender was key to Wigan's success last season and is a real dominant figure at the back.

Burn has been linked with a move to Villa and he would add a lot to Bruce's side who are lacking a leader after John Terry departed.

As well as that, at 26-years old he has his best years ahead of him too.

The Bristol City man would be a good addition to the Villa midfield, with his ability on the ball and positional play.

Pack is something of an unsung hero for the Robins and could be a good player at the base of Villa's midfield to allow the forward players to flourish.

Realistically, Villa aren't going to be able to splash the cash on a big-name signing, so Bruce will have to look for a bargain.

And, whilst Smith would still cost a fair fee, he is cheaper than alternatives and the 11-goal man could be very effective.

With his height and aerial prowess he is very difficult to contain and could be the ideal target man for the attacking midfielders and wide men to play off.