Steve Bruce wants to land West Ham striker Jordan Hugill and Wigan’s Nick Powell, according to the Sun.
The report claims that Bruce is desperate to show that he can land major deals as the club threaten to take control of transfers away from him, and claim he is fighting for his future at Villa.
Bruce himself made contact with West Ham on Sunday and hopes to beat Leeds and QPR to his signature.
Hugill arrived at West Ham earlier in the year for £9million from Preston but has failed to make an impact in the side.
Attacking midfielder Powell would be available for £5million and Bruce has also contacted Wigan direct about his availability.
It is said that the deal would probably be dependent on Villa selling Jack Grealish.
OPINION
The situation at Aston Villa is all over the place. After seemingly beating off a challenge from Thierry Henry, Bruce looks set to stay on as manager. But he wants control over transfers and the new Villa owners are potentially looking at a different way of working. Hugill and Powell would be major deals and if Bruce gets his way then he will have won this round of the power struggle. Hugill has flopped at West Ham and they may well sanction a loan move. 24-year-old Powell moved from Man United to Wigan two years ago and had a standout season in League One, scoring 15 goals and registering seven assists in 39 games. That deal will be made harder because of the deadlock over Grealish. Spurs want him but aren’t yet near Villa’s valuation of the player. These deals could go all the way to the deadline and could give a clear picture of Bruce’s future at the club.