Aston Villa defied expectations to secure a top-four Premier League finish this season, but Unai Emery must hold the belief that some of the division's struggling giants will enjoy resurgences next year.
As such, transfer recruitment must be unerring, with Champions League football requiring added firepower and boosted quality to juggle the strain of competition across four different fronts.
Ross Barkley is closing on a transfer to Villa Park, but he's not the only midfielder on Monchi's radar, with a prodigious talent now being lined up.
Villa send scouts for touted talent
According to Caught Offside, Villa have sent scouts to watch Desire Doue in action for Stade Rennais this season, with the French Ligue 1 outfit valuing the 18-year-old – who is said to have been the subject of talks with Arsenal – at €35m (£30m).
That said, a host of top European sides – including Manchester United and Real Madrid – are also eager for his signature and Emery will need to fight tooth and nail to get this one over the line.
Desire Doue's season in numbers
Last season, a 17-year-old Doue started 11 matches – scoring three goals – in the French top flight and was hailed by talent scout Jacek Kulig as "one of the leaders of a great French generation."
This season, the youngster's meteoric rise has seen him eclipse already lofty expectations to start 17 Ligue 1 matches and clinch four goals and four assists apiece, growing into his skin as a flexible attacking midfielder and developing an impressive and varied array of abilities.
Matches played
31
Matches started
17
Goals
4
Assists
4
Pass completion
79%
Big chances created
5
Key passes per game
1.0
Ball recoveries per game
3.0
Dribbles per game
2.1 (67%)
Duels won per game
5.1 (52%)
Moreover, Doue ranks among the top 7% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes, the top 6% for successful take-ons, the top 15% for tackles, the top 6% for interceptions and the top 3% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.
His inborn athleticism and ease in progression makes him the perfect player to diversify the Villan attack, tenacious and robust enough to effectively add to the defensive efforts, while blessed with technical prowess to see him pick out his peers abounding ahead of him with frightening quality.
Doue been hailed as a "special" prospect by analyst Ben Mattinson and it's hardly difficult to discern why, with the Frenchman nurturing a truly incredible skill set that will only bloom as the years go by.
And it's for this reason that Emery and Monchi must throw the kitchen sink and secure his services, with his left-sided proclivity and dynamic approach potentially making him the perfect replacement for Jacob Ramsey, who has attracted attention from Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur recently amid growing concerns that Villa might need to cash in to stay in line with profitability and sustainability rules.
Ramsey is a talented and multi-functioning player but he usually finds a home down the left flank, though considering that he also performs well in the centre of the park, Doue would mark not only the perfect replacement but actually a big upgrade.
The 22-year-old would fetch a figure as high as £50m and has been blighted by injuries this season, starting eight times in the league and having been absent since the early days of March.
Given that Ramsey has only scored one goal and supplied two assists last season, averaging 0.7 key passes and 2.6 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore, it might be time to cash in, especially if selling opens up space for a precocious prospect in Doue.
Aston Villa eyeing "special" signing who'd be more exciting than Barkley
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