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Steve Bruce reckons Aston Villa’s pulling-power will enable him to land an experienced No.9 in January.

The boss has reiterated that he ‘doesn’t have millions to spend’ on a striker despite a long-term injury to Jonathan Kodjia.

But Villa are still setting their standards high in the pursuit of a forward who can come in on loan until the end of the season.

Swansea City’s Oli McBurnie has been linked but the Birmingham Mail understands Villa are looking for a hitman with more experience so a move is unlikely.

Nahki Wells is still on Villa's radar having been considered before he moved to Burnley for £5million in the summer.

He's currently out of favour at Turf Moor but may be kept on for the second half of the season.

Villa are also in for Leicester's Leo Ulloa. The Foxes are expected to let him leave but will weigh up their own options first.

Liverpool’s Danny Ings could also come into contention but Villa face stiff competition from Premier League clubs West Ham, Albion and Crystal Palace if they were to make a move.

Bruce will also monitor a number of other top-flight strikers who are struggling to get a look-in to see if they could become available in January.

Having lured players from the Premier League in the summer, the manager is confident he can pull off another high-profile capture to add to the loan signings of Sam Johnstone (Manchester United), Josh Onomah (Tottenham) and Robert Snodgrass (West Ham).

“It’s like playing for a Premier League club here because of the size of the club, the facilities and the crowd and the atmosphere we create every week at Villa Park,” said Bruce.

“We’re looking at loans because we haven’t got the luxury of spending millions.

“It’s easier if you’ve got a bit of money to try to buy a centre forward or whatever you need, which at the moment we haven’t got (money).

“It’s vitally important that we still have to be on our guard.

“Can we be creative? Can we find somebody?

“I’m sure this club will enable me to do it.”

Scott Hogan is now back which is good news for Villa but they still want a new forward.

Last winter Bruce made the decision to opt for Hogan over Jordan Rhodes because he was a cheaper option and money was also tight back then.

Asked if there would be more leeway this time around, Bruce added:

“We’ll try to get one or two loan players if we can to try to help us, and if we can’t then the squad has proven that we’re capable.

“Of course we’d like a hand but that’s the way we are at the moment and a couple of loan players is what we can look for.”

The players the fans want to sign!

We recently asked you which players you thought Aston Villa should target in the January transfer window.

These are just some of the most popular suggestions we received.

Use the comments box below to tell us which players you would go for.

Peter Savery: Lookman from Everton on loan, fast, eager to prove himself and as his midweek performance in Europe shows he knows where the back of the net is!! Would combine well with Davis too I reckon.

Andy Milford: Missed opportunity I know, but I would have loved to have seen Jermaine Defoe at Villa.

Ron Tame: James Milner he wasn't allowed to finish the job

LeeAVFC: Benteke should never have left

Kerry Overington: Charlie Austin profilic goalscorer

Simon Shingler: Danny Ings, Ashley Young and James Milner

Daniel Tomassi: Afobe and harry arter flint also would be a great addition

Jonathan Woolley: Kaemachio from Leicester on loan great young striker that will score goals not getting a look in at leicester

Rob Southwell: Peter Crouch.

Steve Davies: Kemar Roofe

Scott Balchin : Blackett from Reading as a CB option

Mason Beavon: Stuart Armstrong

Craig Smith: Cattermole

Further reading

Why are we starting him over O'Hare?

Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that Tottenham Hotspur could recall Josh Onomah in January if transfer business doesn’t go to plan.

That has prompted quite a response from the Aston Villa faithful, as you can see below.

Onomah, only 20, has scored three times in 21 appearances for Aston Villa this season having agreed a loan move back in the summer.

It’s been an agreement that, until now, has largely been a successful one; it’s benefitted all three parties in terms of development.

Onomah, also catching the eye for the England U21s this season, has scored in the draw at Bristol City and in wins over Burton and Sunderland.

Here's your thoughts on the issue...

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Big draw

More TV viewers have tuned in to watch Aston Villa this season than any almost other team outside of the top flight.

Villa’s televised league matches have attracted a combined audience of 1.8m between the start of the season and the end of November, according to figures taken from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB).

Of course, Villa have been on more times than anyone else too!

Find out how Villa compare with the rest of the Championship's big hitters.

Window shopping

Aston Villa will use the January transfer window to strengthen the squad and boost their promotion push.

Boss Steve Bruce and director of football Steve Round have held lengthy discussions over targets and the scouting team have been tasked with finding foreign bargains.

There will be lists, even lists of lists, reams of information and hours of footage about likely candidates in every position.

And the plan is to act fast and get the new players on board as early as possible.

Gregg Evans answers the big questions going into January.

Transfer tinder

Who should Aston Villa keep and who should they sell during the January transfer window?

There will be plenty of speculation about incoming players, but what about those heading for the Bodymoor Heath exit door?

We want you to tell us which of Steve Bruce's men must be retained at all costs, and who is surplus to requirements.

To avoid overloading our interactive 'Keep or Sell' widget we've split the Villa squad into two sections.

First of all, in this piece, we will consider those whose primary task it is to keep the ball out of the net.

HAVE YOUR SAY BY USING OUR INTERACTIVE WIDGET

Festive target

Steve Bruce wants his troops to be within striking distance of the top-two by the turn of the year.

Villa drew 0-0 with Millwall on Saturday and missed out on a golden opportunity to make ground on Wolves and Cardiff who both also dropped points.

The rare double slip-up passed Villa by but Bruce isn’t too concerned with the respective nine and seven-point gap at this stage.

Instead he’s more concerned about staying in touch with the stand-out teams in the Championship amid a crippling injury crisis that has struck the club already this season.

Here's how he sees the situation.

Albert A-do-more

Ten goals so far in a stunning season are not enough for Villa winger Albert Adomah.

As well as scoring himself he wants to help others do the same.

He told the News & Record: “I think I’ve done well scoring for the team but, at the same time, I haven’t achieved one of my targets – assisting goals.

“People say that I’m scoring so that can only be a good thing but my main target is to assist because I’m a creative winger and I’m still looking to do that more frequently.

“My target is ten assists and I’ve only got one so far. I’ve reached the target of ten goals but I’ve still got a long way to go to hit my assists target.”