Johan Lange has arguably never had a bigger smile on his face.

When Matty Cash walked through the door he had a beaming grin, but that grew even larger when they welcomed Ollie Watkins to the club on Wednesday.

Aston Villa broke their transfer record to sign the striker from Brentford so you can see why everyone is so elated. 

This has been an important summer for Villa, a club who still seem to have plenty of finances available to them despite the ongoing pandemic.

They may not get close to the £140m that was spent last summer, but a pretty penny is still being shelled out.

Their efforts aren't going to stop with Watkins either. A bid of £15m has been submitted for Emi Martinez while Josh King remains an option as Villa look to add more firepower to the squad. 

That being said, they now have a midfield target on their mind too. 

Ollie Watkins

According to French journalist Manu Lonjon, the Villans are interested in signing Rennes' Clement Grenier.

Villa are supposedly already in discussions to sign the 29-year-old but unfortunately for Villa, there is plenty of interest in his services.

Lonjon claims that Porto are also in talks to lure him away from France, while Galatasaray approached the player last weekend. 

No fee is mentioned, but Grenier is currently valued at just £4.95m, via Transfermarkt, so shouldn't be too costly for Lange and Dean Smith.

The central midfielder played only 17 times in Ligue 1 last term, scoring once and creating one assist. 

Clement Grenier celebrates

GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...

This is an interesting one from Villa, a club who certainly haven't been afraid to exploit the French market in years gone by.

They signed Frederic Guilbert, Anwar El Ghazi and Bjorn Engels from France last year while it was a tactic they pursued last time they were in the Premier League.

In 2015/16, they signed as many as many as four players from Ligue 1 - Idrissa Gueye, Jordan Amavi, Jordan Ayew and Jordan Veretout. 

Clearly, the club have had mixed success when targeting that part of the world. 

Clement Grenier in training

Grenier is now past his best but would arrive at Villa Park with plenty of pedigree. When he was younger, Arsenal were trying to bring the player to the Emirates. It was no surprise to see why either.

Journalist Andrew Gibney described the midfielder as someone with "beautiful balance," so he'd certainly fit in well at a club that houses both John McGinn and Jack Grealish.

Amazingly, he was even dubbed 'the new Kaka' when he was rising through the ranks as a teenager at Lyon.

The Frenchman has evidently seen better days but at a small price, it'd be worth the gamble from Villa this summer.