Aston Villa are yet to pick up a win in the Premier League this season as Unai Emery's men continue to draw blanks.
A 0-0 draw against Newcastle United on the opening weekend could have been excused, as Ezri Konsa's second-half dismissal saw the Villans fight for a point, but following up that battling display with a dire 1-0 defeat on the road to Brentford would have undoubtedly irked the claret and blue masses watching on in West London.
The Spaniard will hope his team can finally kick into gear this campaign when they face Crystal Palace at home to round off a choppy month.
He will be all too aware of how vital the coming days could also be as Villa hunt down some last-minute signings, with the West Midlands outfit in desperate need of an injection of positivity, after losing homegrown Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle United recently.
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Aston Villa plot £26m move for new attacker
Losing the Birmingham-born midfielder to St James' Park will sting temporarily.
However, the Villans' PSR situation dictated that this £40m switch must take place, with the early Premier League underachievers now hoping to use that hefty amount to improve their own personnel.
It has long been reported that Villa are eyeing up Chelsea outcast Nicolas Jackson as a striker target this summer, with a recent report even revealing that the £65m striker is one of their main targets.
However, there are other promising talents on their radar, perhaps most notably in the form of Sporting attacker Geny Catamo.
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Sporting CP forward Geny Catamo.
Portuguese outlet A Bola speculate that Villa have offered £17m to the Liga Portugal giants for the services of their rapid winger.
Unfortunately for Emery and Co., only a fee in the region of £26m will suffice.
How Catamo can be Emery's next Ramsey
It could well be a lump sum worth coughing up if the Mozambique international does go on to be as impactful as Ramsey was in flashes for his boyhood side.
Despite largely being used as a substitute option at Villa Park - with 43 of his Premier League appearances for Emery's men seeing him come off the bench - Ramsey still left a lasting impression on those watching on.
A healthy haul of 14 goals and 12 assists came his way from 136 appearances in the West Midlands, with ex-Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister once even declaring that Ramsey could "go right to the top" despite his impact substitute presence.
Catamo has been showered with equal levels of praise for his gung-ho approach for Sporting, having once been lauded as being "incisive" by former boss Ruben Amorim, before he swapped Lisbon for Manchester.
He could soon be competing against his ex-manager, donning Villa claret and blue, with the quick-thinking 24-year-old only three goal contributions shy of Ramsey's Villa total, strutting his stuff in the Portuguese top division.
Catamo in Liga Portugal
Stat
Games played
Games started
Goals scored
Assists
League titles
Sourced by Transfermarkt
But, much like his English counterpart, Catamo has often had to make do with limited opportunities in the Portuguese capital, having started just 44 of his overall 80 league contests for Sporting.
Yet, that hasn't stopped him from consistently seizing his opportunity, with Emery hopeful he can find another bright spark - who is similar to the relentless energy of Ramsey - that he can rely on if Catamo were to walk through the door shortly.
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Geny Catamo celebrating with Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting.
With the 24-year-old also capable of playing down the left wing, where Ramsey usually resided for Villa, on top of being another potential face down the opposing right flank, or even through the middle as a number ten, this feels as if it would be a smart next signing to make.
Emery would at least then know that the millions injected into the bank from the Birmingham-born attacker's exit had been put to good use.