Despite an early spell of positivity amid Dean Smith's arrival at Aston Villa, their bid for a play-off finish has started to dwindle once more.

The former Brentford manager hit the ground running at Villa Park, winning five out of his first eight games as Villa boss, and picking up some impressive wins at promotion rivals Middlesbrough and Derby County away from home.

But the Villa have hit an stumbling block in recent weeks - the West Midlands side have won just one of their last seven league games and have slumped to 12th position in the Sky Bet Championship table, five points off the top six.

With a home clash against an in-form Hull City this coming weekend, things aren't going to get any easier for Smith, who will still be looking to strengthen his side this transfer window, in order to push them back up the table.

Here, we take a look at TWO transfer deals that would surely delight Aston Villa fans this month...

Sign Scott McKenna

McKenna has been linked with a move to Villa Park since the start of the summer, where they reportedly had a £6.5million bid turned down for the defender.

The 22-year-old has quickly emerged as one of the best defenders in Scotland, after impressing for Aberdeen over the last couple of years. The Scottish international has also captained his national side on more than one occasion, which proves how impressive he has been in recent times.

Reports claim that Villa remain interested in the towering centre-half, but they may have to splash the cash and beat the likes of Scottish champions Celtic to his signature, with the Dons putting a £10million price tag on their star-man.

Villa are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements this month having conceded 43 goals in the league, and McKenna would definitely shore up their leaky back-line.

Shift Micah Richards out 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A departure that simply has to happen this month is Micah Richards leaving the club.

It's surprising to see that the 30-year-old is still on Villa's books, especially when you consider that the defender hasn't featured for Villa since 2016, and hasn't been named in the matchday squad since September 2017.

Richards is likely to be on high wages after captaining Villa in the Premier League, and with interest from Brendan Rodgers' Celtic reportedly circling, Smith needs to ensure that this deal gets done.