M_Afro

4 minutes ago, Dale said:

If Utd are offloading James/van der Beek I'd be very happy to go that way... 

I think this is a good strategy. Even the top clubs are struggling for cash and need to sell players in order to go after their top targets. I think there will be some good players being sold in what will effectively be a buyers market. You are much more likely to get value for money in this scenario as opposed to trying to prise the likes of McNeil and Buendia away from clubs with no need/appetite to sell.

The one thing you can guarantee about Ross, no matter where he ends up, is that he will always save his one good performance of the season, to when he plays against us, culminating in at least 1 goal. Fact!

15 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Do you think he would have made a difference in that game last night, for example?

Personally, I think he would have been murdered.

I like Luiz, but at present, he is no CDM, next season could be a different sroty.

Probably not. Jack is our only player who you could say with any certainty that they would have made a difference. Due to the non existence of a cf I think Ollie would have done a job too given the circumstances but I don’t think he would normally be considered City class.

I do think that Luiz has real growth in him though and the team is about balance. That’s where we are going wrong in my view. The balance of the midfield is not right. Put Luiz alongside Kante and I’m sure you would see a much improved Dougie.

I think he would do well at City. In a team that dominates territory and possession he has the  attributes to play DM really well. Hopefully we will see that at Villa next year with some better quality ahead of him.

1 minute ago, Loxstock92 said:

5th June I believe.

Cheers. We will soon find out then. It seems unlikely to me but certainly not impossible.

£25m for a young Brazilian international midfielder who has two years PL experience is peanuts. I really hope we keep him. We have a settled squad now that we need to build upon. We don’t need any churn. It’s way too disruptive. Luiz is a good player struggling for form. We need to keep him.

When does the buy back clause lapse?

He’s probably at his optimum value now after last season. I could easily see him at a club like Swansea if they get promoted or maybe Watford. I would sell him and buy a younger project type player to replace him. He has scored goals this season but our play breaks down with him so regularly and he didn’t get a single assist! If we could get £15m then we should sell him and move on.

I just can’t see this happening. He is young and on a long contract. It would take a big fee to prise him away from that. He would just end up being too expensive. We are after a bit of value.

9 minutes ago, Kiwivillan said:

Villa DMs are never good enough for armchair Villa fans. Some people thought Gueye was shit. Smith identified Nakamba to do a job against Leeds Arsenal Spurs and Chelsea like the good squad DM that he is

I saw a stat yesterday, it may have been on here, that Emi had to make twice as many saves for his clean sheets as his two main competitors. That tells us two things; firstly that Emi is ace and secondly that we are too easy to get at. Chelsea was a brilliant end to the season and Marvelous did play well but let’s be honest, if they had taken their chances they would have won comfortably. Add to that the fact that Chelsea have struggled to create chances under the new manager. 

The WBA fans really rate MP. I can’t say I was ever that impressed but they think he is a £50m plus player. He must have done something right for them. I would still prefer Buendia though.

2 hours ago, Creeper said:

Noticed Alan Nixon alluded that we want an experienced backup to replace Heaton, and someone mentioned us going for Gazzaniga whos been released from Spurs and he didn't say no. 

 

 

Would be a really good signing. Like for like replacement for Tom but much younger without the history of bad injuries. I thought we would look for an experienced GK so I can really see this happening. Another smart move from Villa.

Purslow is a very cool customer. I love the fact that he is at the helm of our great club, wonderfully backed by superb owners. I have watched his interview. He again stated how ambitious our owners are. He also said that our transfer plans were well defined and in progress and were designed to improve the first team and the squad. He then deliberately made some vague comments, entirely purposely not wanting to reveal any further detail.

I suspect we will be looking for 2/3 starters plus a couple of squad players. The budget will be around £100m. Purely speculation on my part but that’s where I got to reading between the lines.

I do wonder whether Hause will look to move on this summer. He left Wolves to play first team football. That looks unlikely for us. Hope I am wrong because he provides excellent cover and could head away a small planet.

If we want him, I think we will get him. Villa has a special feel about it at the moment and Arsenal is pretty toxic.

18 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

No way would i. 

Why do people keep saying this? Competition for places if ollie performs he will stay in the team of he doesnt then his place will be under threat

If ollie gets a 2-3 month injury touch wood wont happen who we wgot davis who has scored a mighty one goal all sesson or wesley who has been out for 18 months.

We  need another striker in my view as well. If thw grealish injury has taight us something we need to ensure we can cope with injuries to key players

I suppose the point is, why spend £40m on a player to provide competition to an established performer when we have glaring needs in our first 11 to be addressed first. If money were no object then it would be great to sign Tammy(although £40m is way too much and he wouldn’t come here unless he was guaranteed a starting place). Spending £40m on a centre mid or a wide forward would provide much greater overall benefit to the team than spending it on competition for an established, performing player.

21 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

 

anyone? 

Yes please. An absolute bargain. Minimum risk involved too just a step across from the darkness into the light.

5 hours ago, Supervillan78 said:

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, however I’d absolutely love it if we could get Dele Alli.

Admittedly he’s suffered a huge dip in form recently however, class is permanent and I really think Dean would get the best out of him. He’s still only 25, still a fantastic talent, with the added bonus of already having significant premier league and European experience and I’ve no doubt he would slot straight into our midfield and have a massive impact almost immediately. 

He does tick a lot of boxes for me and Spurs are apparently desperate to get him off their books, so potentially he could be available for as little as £25m which would be a real bargain. 

UTV

You have got to question why Spurs are so desperate to get rid of a young English player in his prime! Massive no for me. I never thought he was ever that good. He has been rubbish for ages and he would want massive wages. 

As a team I think we really lack football intelligence. This kid has it in spades. His reading and anticipation are incredible. If our midfield trio had his intelligence we would be much the better for it. Exceptional tonight. Really enjoyed watching him play.

8 minutes ago, adam67 said:

Watching BT kind of reminds me of Watching Tony Daley back in his prime, obviously BT hasn't got that blistering pace TD had, but the uncertainty of what's going to happen when he has the ball at his feet gets you to sit/stand up and get excited to see what he,s going to do, beat three players score a worldie, fall over, 50 yard back pass after beating 3 men who knows! 

I think the same every time I watch Saint Maximin. Very Tony Daley like in my view.

I am pleased for AEG. He is a likeable bloke and has played an important role in our renaissance but I think now is the perfect time to sell him. His value will be fairly high, probably the highest it will ever be and we need better than he can offer. He scored a great penalty today but the rest of his performance was really poor. If we could sell him for a large amount and replace him with a younger player of similar value but greater potential, then we should do it. Otherwise, happy for him to be back up next season.

1 minute ago, Phil Silvers said:

A glimpse of what a very good DM can bring to Aston Villa. 

This is so true. Sort out centre mid and wide forwards and we are top 8 easily. Bert did quite well today but AEG was a total passenger.

We have been poor when coming up against an energetic, pressing team in recent months. Chelsea will not give us a second of rest so it will be interesting to see how we cope with that now Jack is back. I suspect Dean will bring Luiz back in for Marvelous, although hopefully he will stick with our team from Spurs.

The result is kind of irrelevant although a win would be lovely. A good performance and no injuries will do me though. Is it too greedy to hope for a Grealish goal? UTV

Really hope Ty makes the England squad and then forces himself into the starting 11. I love everything about him. I think our recovery only really started the day that he walked into our beautiful club.