Newcastle United goalkeeper Karl Darlow is understood to be on Aston Villa’s radar this January.
The Toon stopper is on a list of possible goalkeepers after Tom Heaton was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Darlow has barely featured in recent seasons and is out of contract at the end of the campaign .
Newcastle did hold talks with Darlow but have been unable to come to an arrangement so far.
Darlow was signed from Nottingham Forest back in 2014 on the same day as skipper Jamaal Lascelles.
But unlike his team-mate he has struggled for opportunities.
Villa boss Dean Smith has admitted he is looking to bring in replacements.
He said: “I am sitting down with Christian Purslow and Jesus Gracia to see what this changes for us. It will probably hasten what we do in the market.
“Until I sit down with them I’ll see where we go and how quickly we do it.
“We’ve had five games in 16 days and we have another seven in January, so we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.
“We have to deal with it and help the players in their recovery, and recruit wisely.”
