Aston Villa are gearing up for an important January transfer window. Unai Emery has guided Villa to fifth in the Premier League and the cusp of progression in the Champions League with a smaller squad than most of their rivals.

There is seemingly an acceptance from Emery and president of football operations Monchi that Villa's squad needs fleshing out a little and the club hope to complete some business in January. In the last two January windows Villa have signed Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers who spearheaded their victory over Manchester City on Saturday.

Monchi recently confirmed that the club would be alive to all possibilities, provided they don't put themselves at risk of breaching Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). Villa had to wheel and deal in the summer to comply with the Premier League's stringent financial rules.

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Here are the latest Villa transfer lines doing the rounds...

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Villa made two offers for Semih Kilicsoy

Up-and-coming Turkish striker Semih Kilicsoy is said to have attracted interest from Villa during the summer window. Kilicsoy bagged 11 goals and four assists in 23 Turkish Super Lig matches for Besiktas last season before he turned 19. He has only netted once in 15 league outings this term but Kilicsoy is already a household name with his club and country.

Besiktas president Huseyin Yucel claims to have rejected two bids - the second of which totalled £12.5million - for Kilicsoy from Villa during the summer window.

In a Q&A with Tivibu Spor (via Sport Witness), Yucel said: “Aston Villa made an offer for Semih Kilicsoy. Monchi’s first offer was 12 million euros [£10m]. Then, it increased to 15 million euros [£12.5m]. Semih would also play for our team for one year. They also asked me whether I wanted Diego Carlos or Alex Moreno. I couldn’t get this accepted. Fifteen million euros is too little.”

Derby County in the race for Louie Barry

Louie Barry, 21, is a man in-demand after a stunning first half of the season in League One with Stockport County. Barry has scored 14 league goals to put Stockport in the promotion shake-up and himself at the top of the scoring charts in the third tier.

A clutch of Championship clubs are apparently chasing his signature and Derby County are now said to be among them. Naturally, Stockport are desperate to keep Barry, but the decision rests with Villa.

"When you take a player on loan, especially from a Premier League club, the reality is you know what you're getting going into," says Stockport boss Dave Challinor. "We obviously hope that he can stay with us and score another 15 goals in the back end of the season and quite selfishly say that monetises his value more than going to a Championship club and not playing the same amount of minutes that he's having here. That's a decision that's out of our control."

Villa 'watching Championship defender'

It would take an exceptional defender to break up Emery's preferred centre-back pairing of Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres but Villa do need to strengthen in that area in the near future. Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos, who was almost sold in the summer window, are the wrong side of 30 now.

Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard, 25, has age on his side and has already made 25 appearances for Northern Ireland. According to The Boot Room, Villa are among the teams keeping a close eye on Ballard.

Ballard has scored in his last two outings for the Black Cats, both of which ended in victory, and has made 12 appearances in the Championship in total. The Boot Room claims Wolves are keen on Ballard but Villa, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Fulham are supposedly keen too.