Steven Gerrard will step up his Aston Villa revolution in the next two weeks after opening talks for Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.
Gerrard has made a promising start to life as a Premier League boss with 16 points from 10 games to drag Villa to 11th.
He now aims to add Uruguay international Bentancur,24, to a squad already boosted this month by Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Digne, Robin Olsen and young defender Kerr Smith.
Gerrard has also revealed he intends to use the winter break as a “very important” chance to drill his side and give them a mini pre-season with Villa not back in action until February 9.
Bentancur has emerged as Villa’s best bet to strengthen in holding midfield after losing Marvelous Nakamba to injury.
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has provided his ex-Liverpool team-mate Gerrard with a glowing reference on compatriot Bentancur.
Bentancur, who has won three Serie A titles with the Italian giants, is under contract until 2024 in Turin and has made 25 appearances this term.
But Villa are now focusing on him after receiving a prohibitive price for Brighton ’s Yves Bissouma, who is out of contract next summer.
Gerrard is also keen to recruit another centre-back before next Monday’s deadline but is prepared to wait if his top targets prove unavailable.
Gerrard’s team do not return to action until they host Leeds on February 9 but he plans to now work intensively with his squad ahead a hectic Premier League run-in.
Villa, who were knocked out of the FA Cup earlier this month at Manchester United, had been hoping to reschedule a previously postponed Premier League fixture with either Burnley or Leeds for the weekend of February 4-5.
Instead they will try to set up a behind-closed-doors friendly and work hard on their players’ strength and conditioning.
“We have been presented with an opportunity and we need to make the most of it,” explained Gerrard.
“From a physical point of view the next two weeks are very important because we need to train hard.
“We also have a chance to have unlimited physical days when we can reset our identity in and out of possession. We will use it as a mini pre-season, which will hopefully benefit us for the remaining fixtures.
“Our plan is quite clear. We want to try and finish as strongly as we can. The next two weeks is really important in terms of the team and the group. Hopefully we become better because of it.”
Argentine duo Emi Martinez and Emi Buendia will be away from the club after being called up for World Cup qualifiers while January signing Philippe Coutinho is due to link up with Brazil.
But winger Leon Bailey is due to return to training in the next fortnight.
The £25million summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen, who has not featured since December 1 due to a muscle injury, is likely to be eased back in slowly but will provide Gerrard with another attacking option.
