This has been a momentous week for Aston Villa so far.

Heading into the opening weekend of the new campaign, it looked as though they'd still have to rely on a pretty shoddy forward line.

However, step forward Johan Lange. The new sporting director has been incredibly impressive with his recruitment strategies so far and on Wednesday, he broke the club's transfer record. Talk about getting things going in style.

Of course, that was for striker Ollie Watkins who moved to the Villans after leaving Brentford behind for a fee that could rise to £33m.

That is an awful lot of money for a Championship forward, but after scoring 26 times last season, should eventually be worth it.

Lange won't rest there and he is eager to get more business done in the window. Rhian Brewster and Josh King are two targets while there seems to be an urge to sign a goalkeeper.

Aston Villa are currently trying to negotiate a deal for Arsenal stopper Emi Martinez.

Ollie Watkins

Reports from Italy suggest that two further players are now on Villa's radar.

According to the Brescia edition of Corriere Della Sera (via Sport Witness), the Villans are chasing goalkeeper Jesse Joronen and central defender Jhon Chancellor. 

Brescia owner Massimo Cellino is now negotiating over a move for Joronen to either Watford or Villa and a fee of €8m (£7.2m) has been touted for his services. 

Chancellor, meanwhile, was previously valued at €5m (£4.4m) by TuttoMercatoWeb, but he would prefer to stay in Italy.

However, his current club see him as a player they could make a profit on this summer as they try to improve their financial situation. 

Jesse Joronen

GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...

Of both players here, Chancellor would surely make the most sense. Unfortunately, it looks like the least likely of the two deals to go through.

We've already made it clear on GMS countless times that Villa don't really need another 'keeper this summer considering the sheer number of options they already have between the sticks.

That being said, they could certainly do with some improvement next to Tyrone Mings in the backline. 

He was superb last season as he went onto win his first England caps but Smith couldn't really settle on a partner for the big defender.

Jhon Chancellor and Diego Godin

In Chancellor they could find the ideal man. He is a colossal frame, standing at 6 foot 6 and he is an animal in the air. 

Last term, the Venezuelan won 2.4 aerial duels per match. For context, that tally beats Mings' record from 2019/20. 

With that in mind, he'd be an astute addition. Joronen, who also stands at 6 foot 6, is certainly not the best option between the sticks, though. 

Martinez has to be the first choice in that department if they are insisting on signing a new number one.