Nicklas Helenius

Age: 22

Position: Forward

Club(s): Aalborg BK

In one word: Impactful

The latest word around Birmingham is that Danish striker Nicklas Helenius will be announced as an Aston Villa player after he passes his medical on Monday. The 22 year old has been at Aalborg since 2005, and made his debut with the senior squad at the end of the 2009-2010 season. Last August, he earned his first senior cap for Denmark against Slovakia, and later played in the friendly against Turkey in November.

According to the AaB official site, Helenius has played 102 games for the club, scoring 40 goals in the process. Last season, he notched 16 league goals, second only to Copenhagen's Andreas Cornelius. That was enough to get him named the Danish Superliga's Player of the Year by Uefa, especially considering he helped AaB finish fifth and qualify for Europe -- last year, they were seventh.

This Dane sounds like a typical target man. Helenius is 1.96m / 6'5" feet tall, making him quite dangerous in the box. He's also good off the ball, creating space for his teammates -- would love to see Gabby's pace combined with this particular talent. A quick scan of YouTube videos will reveal his presence and control in the area, and his composure carries over to his spot-kicks as well.

Excitingly for Villa supporters, it seems Helenius really wants to join the club, mostly due to the youthful revolution Paul Lambert is creating in the squad. He also wants to fight for a spot in the first team, which might not be terribly easy assuming the club can hang on to Christian Benteke. But with Andreas Weimann having just signed a new contract, and Gabby Agbonlahor presumably spending his entire career with the Villa, it would be nice to have a plethora of options up front.