Aston Villa's latest scouting mission has recently been underlined, with reports from Birmingham Live claiming that scouts from Villa Park were present at a Belgian Pro League fixture on Sunday afternoon.

Representatives from the West Midlands club watched Royal Excel Mouscron defeat Cercle Brugge by three goals to nil, as well as scouts from the likes of AC Milan, VFL Wolfsburg and RC Lens.

The Villans have won just one of their last nine league games, and have slipped to nine points off the Sky Bet Championship play-off spots, after a 2-0 loss to West Brom at the weekend.

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Scouts from Villa Park have also been spotted in France in recent months, therefore it will be interesting to see who Smith brings into the club after some obscure signings made during his time at Brentford.

Here, we take a look at two players that Villa could have been monitoring during their scouting mission in Belgium...

Taiwo Awoniyi

If he wasn't on Villa's radar before the game, then Awoniyi may well be on it now after an impressive performance against Brugge on Sunday.

The 21-year-old produced an assist and got on the score-sheet himself, as the forward, on loan from Liverpool, took his tally up to four goals and two assists in his last five games.

A pacy forward, Awoniyi could be the perfect long-term replacement for Tammy Abraham, who will return to the Chelsea at the end of the season after his loan deal expires.

Manuel Benson

Benson was another player who caught the eye on Sunday afternoon, after putting in an impressive performance in the heart of midfield.

The 21-year-old is an established player in the Belgian Pro League and has shown flashes of his real quality which suggest he could be a really good player in England.

With the likes of Glenn Whelan and Mile Jedinak both approaching the end of their careers, Benson could be a quality long-term replacement.