Journalist Dean Jones has revealed one position that Aston Villa will prioritise in the transfer market this summer.

Which position did Jones say Villa will prioritise?

According to Jones, Villa want to add another defensive midfielder to their ranks as they look to push on from their mid-table finish in 2020/21.

The club have already signed Emiliano Buendia and Ashley Young in recent weeks, and they now appear to have set their sights on bringing in a holding midfielder in the coming months ahead of the new season.

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Why might Villa want to sign a defensive midfielder?

Manager Dean Smith currently has two players for this position at his disposal - Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba.

However, the latter only made 13 top-flight appearances this year, suggesting that Smith does not fully trust him to be a key figure in his side at the moment.

Meanwhile, Luiz's future is far from certain. Manchester City have inserted a buy-back clause in the Brazilian's contract, meaning that they could swoop in to bring him back to the Etihad at some stage.

There is also interest in Luiz from abroad, as Roma are reportedly keen on the 23-year-old. Therefore, it seems that Smith may be concerned that he could be left short in this position, so wants to bring a player in to ensure that this is not the case.

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Would Villa be willing to spend big on a defensive midfielder?

That is not clear at this point, but it seems that Villa are not going to be shy when it comes to spending money this summer.

They have already broken their club record transfer fee in getting Buendia over to Villa Park, and have bid £30m for Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe, although this offer was rejected.

Meanwhile, they are also linked with £40m-rated attacker Tammy Abraham, so it seems that they are happy to spend big on their transfer targets, suggesting that they could set aside a substantial amount of money to buy a defensive midfielder during the transfer window.

Have Villa been linked with a defensive midfielder recently?

The Villans have been linked with Southampton's Oriol Romeu in recent days, who could be a potential option to fill the holding role for Smith's side.

The 29-year-old has made over 200 Premier League appearances for the Saints and Chelsea, so would bring a vast amount of experience to the team.

He would also need little time to acclimatise to his new surroundings given the years he has already spent in England, indicating that the could be the ideal signing for this position by Villa.