EFL Championship outfit Aston Villa have been doing some scouting in Germany ahead of the reopening of the transfer window, according to reports.

Scouts in Attendance has tweeted that a representative from Aston Villa was among the 46,739 spectators at the Volksparkstadion (Hamburg) on March 3,2018 in Hamburg's goalless draw against Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga.

There is no mention of the players the unnamed scout was interested in but three Nigerian players were in action for Mainz.

Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun was named in the starting line-up, national team colleague Anthony Ujah was introduced in the 88th minute while Vienna-born Austria international who is still eligible to represent Nigeria, Karim Onisiwo, hopped off the bench in the 77th minute.

Ujah moved to Die Nullfünfer in the January transfer window to boost his chances of being included in Nigeria's World Cup squad and has played six games in the Bundesliga and an appearance in the Cup.

Balogun and Onisiwo have German and Austrian passports respectively, hence they will  both be exempted from applying for work permits if Aston Villa should make a move for their services.

Gabby Agbonlahor, Josh Onomah and Emmanuel Idem, who have Nigerian blood flowing in their veins, are on the books of Aston Villa this season.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel