Portsmouth won the race to sign former Claret and Blue ace Crouch and Villa have now turned their attention to 6ft 7in striker Nikola Zigic.
The Serbian international is currently at Valencia but reports in Spain suggest Martin O'Neill has made a £5million bid to bring him to England.
Zigic, 27, built a fearsome reputation in his younger days at Red Star Belgrade scoring 71 goals in just 110 games.
He then went on to star for Racing Santander but has failed to live up to the hype at the Mestalla.
Villa are in the market for more firepower with John Carew, Gabby Agbonlahor and Marlon Harewood the only senior strikers at the club.
Although O'Neill is keen to bring youngsters such as Nathan Delfouneso through, Villa face a long season and need experienced campaigners.
With the season already underway the squad needs to be bolstered and Zigic is just one of a number of players linked with the club.
But it seems a deal is not a million miles away and fans would be eager to see a striker of the Serbian's pedigree arrive at Villa Park.