Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will have an idea already about his squad right now after three games in charge of the club.

The Villans have won one and lost two under his stewardship so far and, clearly, it would seem that work needs to be done in the January window to try and improve things.

According to the Mirror, then, that is what they are looking to do with them apparently lining up a £8 million bid for Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Barry Bannan.

One of the best in the middle of the park in the Championship, Bannan would be a familiar face at Villa Park having played for them already in his career.

However, whilst there is no doubting his class and ability, we're tempted to suggest that there are other areas on the pitch Villa should be looking to invest in before midfield.

Here, then, are three players that they should be throwing the cash at instead...

It is abundantly clear that in defence is where the Villans are struggling right now.

A lack of John Terry in the middle is showing with James Chester looking out of sorts, too.

Chris Mepham might be the ideal candidate, then, with him possessing fine defensive ability and knowing Smith well. Whether Brentford accept such an offer, though, remains to be seen.

Another central defender that would boost Villa's defensive options is Liam Moore.

Of course, he is part of a Reading side that is struggling but Premier League links in the summer highlights that he is certainly a very good footballer.

He signed a new contract with the Royals after looking set to leave in the summer so Villa should try and tempt their resolve.

Aside from centre-half, the Villans could also do with looking at their full-back options.

It seems as though the left-side might just need a bit more attention than the right so why not go after Tom Pearce at Leeds?

He'd probably cost less than £8 million to be fair and has got a serious amount of potential to utilise.

If Leeds can't get him in their side, Villa should dangle a carrot.