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Aston Villa have signed 15 players across two transfer windows under manager Steve Bruce and could yet dip into the market before the current window closes on Thursday evening.

The majority of those signings have been negotiated by Bruce himself and the manager has installed a British knowhow to his Championship promotion chasers while balancing the books following the lavish spending of his predecessors.

The failings of the previous transfer committee still haunt those of a claret and blue persuasion. A team headed up by Paddy Riley didn't provide the necessary support to Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde as the club suffered its Premier League fall from grace.

Riley's replacement, Technical Director Steve Round, has revamped the club's beleaguered scouting department.

While the signings of John Terry, Ahmed Elmohamady and others were sourced and sealed by Bruce, other players, particularly youngsters, were comprehensively scouted by Villa before the club parted with their cash.

A club the size of Villa will have an army of scouts working across the globe. Here is what we know about some of the people tasked with identifying targets for the manager...

Ian Atkins

Atkins is one of a number of men with links to Birmingham City - but like Bruce, Colin Calderwood and Stephen Clemence, Atkins' sole focus is to restore Villa back to their previous heights.

Atkins was appointed by Round as Head of European Recruitment. Atkins was part of a very highly thought of scouting network at Round's former club Everton.

The 60-year-old has spent time travelling around the continent trying to unearth gems since taking up the position in October.

As mentioned above, prior to joining Villa Atkins worked as Chief Scout at Everton for more than four and a half years and was responsible for covering France, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Croatia and all of Scandinavia.

Atkins also dealt with owners, directors and agents throughout Europe and South America while with the Toffees.

Before landing on Merseyside, Atkins was European Director of Scouting at Sunderland - a role that began in 2006. Bruce was Black Cats boss between 2009 and 2011 and relied on Atkins to track down top talent.

Atkins set up Sunderland's European Scouting Network when they were promoted to the Premier League and identified targets from around the continent.

One player who he put forward to Sunderland bosses was current Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic. The Croatian playmaker was with Schalke at the time and would have cost Sunderland just €380,000 had they pushed forward with the deal.

Dave Downes

Former Wigan Head of Recruitment Downes was brought to the club at the tail end of 2014 and tasked with finding youngsters for the club's academy.

His role has taken on extra significance since the dawning of the Dr Tony Xia era. The owner is keen for the club to produce its own talents and become the recognisable force that it once was in youth football.

Villa signed 17-year-old central defender Jacob Bedeau from Bury for £900,000 in January and have added young talents Dimitri Sea and Colin Odutayo this summer.

Tony Coton

Tamworth-born Coton came through the ranks at Blues and represented them for six years as a professional. A reliable goalkeeper who excelled at Watford and Manchester City in the 1980s and 90s.

As Head of Domestic Scouting, Coton is responsible for all UK scouting and recruitment and has been in the role for almost two years.

John Harrower

Round brought in Harrower as Scout Coordinator and his responsibility is to ensure that scouts report into the club's database so that they have all the relevant information they need.

Harrower has previously held roles at Newcastle United, Derby County and Nottingham Forest.

Tommy Mooney

Tommy Mooney isn't a scout as such, but he does play a vital part in Villa's development of young talent. The former Birmingham City, Watford and Walsall striker is Villa's Loan Manager and watches all of the club's players working away from Bodymoor Heath.

Mooney will be a regular visitor at MK Dons to watch Aaron Tshibola this season, while he will also be present at Stevenage to keep an eye on Irishman Kevin Toner, who joined the League Two side last week.

Mooney's son, Kelsey, is part of Villa's under-23 squad and signed his first professional contract towards the end of last season.

Leon Collins

Collins began working within Manchester City's scouting team in 2005 before making the step up to Academy Secretary in August 2014. He only held that role for five months before linking up with Villa as Regional Scouting Manager (Europe).

Collins is responsible for Villa's coverage of France, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bosnia. He was also present as Republic of Ireland defeated Austria in Vienna back in November.