Aston Villa boss Dean Smith will be hoping for a busy January as he looks to stamp his own influence on his team.

Despite a fantastic start to life in charge of his boyhood club, it's clear that Villa will need additions in January.

And, the new manager has been linked with a move for a former player, with Football Insider claiming that he wants to bring Romaine Sawyers to Villa Park.

The 27-year-old has worked with Smith at both Walsall and Brentford and with just 18 months left on his deal, a transfer in the New Year could be a possibility.

Where Sawyers would fit in remains to be seen, as Jack Grealish operates in the number ten position and is the first name on the teamsheet.

However, here we will look at THREE players that would fear for their future if Sawyers arrives...

The midfielder has been frozen out in recent months and was very unfortunate that a rare chance under Smith resulted in an injury against Birmingham.

He was already going to have a battle on his hands to keep his place at Villa Park but you would expect him to move on if the new signing comes in.

Whilst Jedinak is a more defensive midfielder, Sawyers' arrival could see a slight tweak in the midfield setup.

As mentioned, Grealish has to start and the manager might want to fit the former West Brom man in the same side.

That would mean there is just one other position up for grabs and Jedinak would be competing with John McGinn, Conor Hourihane and even Glenn Whelan for that, who would all be ahead of him in the pecking order.

Youngster O'Hare may not be sold as a result but he would certainly find game time heard to come by.

He is currently on the bench but he would surely miss out if Smith brings in his former player.

Therefore, the 20-year-old's development could stall and he would have to look elsewhere to play, even if it is on loan initially.