Aston Villa have beaten their Premier League rivals in more ways than one over the past couple of days.
Manchester City visited Villa Park looking to put an end to their difficult run in that particular corner of the West Midlands but were beaten 1-0 by Unai Emery's Villans.
Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland was kept relatively quiet as the striker failed to score for the first time in 13 matches.
Aston Villa sign 16-year-old from Ivory Coast
Haaland's last blank was on August 23 when City were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium.
According to The Athletic, Villa fans have more than just their recent victory to celebrate, as it appears the club have landed one of the African continent's best young forwards.
Ibrahim Dosso, 16, currently represents Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas, with whom Villa share a club partnership, and will reportedly join up with Unai Emery's side in January 2027, upon turning 18.
Villa's 'V Sports' ownership group is a partner and minority owner of the club from the Ivory Coast, which has previously facilitated the movement of highly-rated young players to Villa Park, such as 18-year-old midfielder Mohamed Koné, who signed earlier this year.
"ASEC are considered to be producing excellent prospects, who are technically sound and physically strong", The Athletic's report states.
Typically, it is the clubs with the financial might of Manchester City and Chelsea, for example, who are able to snare the best young players from further afield, before other top flight clubs get a sniff.
City, in particular, have been known to conduct themselves aggressively in the youth transfer market.
Earlier this year, teenage Sierra Leonean defender Juma Bah completed a move to the Etihad Stadium after terminating his contract with Spanish club Real Valladolid, in order to complete the transfer. Valladolid, in response, issued a strong statement, publicly accusing City Football Group of being 'behind the player's decision'.
The highly-rated defender enjoyed something of a meteoric rise with the Spanish side, initially joining on loan from Sierra Leone club AIK Freetong. Before long, he was starting regularly in LaLiga, which led City into pursuing a deal which they were ultimately able to conclude in their favour.
Valladolid were paid a reported €6 million, per the terms of Bah's contract termination, however, it has been suggested the club would have been in line to receive significantly more had the normal process of a transfer taken place.
