VillaHatesMe

Marvelous was good pressing. His success rate there was the highest in the Prem among midfielders, and that's a valuable asset. Unfortunately where he struggles is in tackling. His success rate there was 22.1%. Of true mids who played enough minutes to qualify in the league last year, only 12 were worse. If he can improve in that area he could actually prove quite useful.

Is it cuz you want Villa to sign them instead?

Well Transfer Markt also says there's a 233% chance Said Benrahma is going to transfer this window

Their attacking metrics for this season were actually quite similar.

Callum Wilson finished 20th in the Prem in xG at 10.1, and was tied for 34th in xG per 90 at 0.31. In other words, he's not great, but he's a perfectly serviceable striker. Our highest finishers were Jack in xG (6.3, t-42nd) and El Ghazi and Wes tied for 41st in xG per 90 at 0.26. It's not the world class upgrade we all want, but it's an upgrade. To me this is the kind of move that would provide a solid floor while hoping that both Wesley and possibly Ollie Watkins exceed expectations.

Yeah, it's not the kind of signing that would excite me, nor is it the kind I think makes a lot of sense on its own given his age. But if it's at a reduced price off a down year, and it comes with offloading Hogan for good, it could be a good piece of business. Provided it's not Plans A, B, C, and D.

#SusoOut

Pirlo!

I think Hughes would start pretty often here. He'd likely rotate with Hourihane depending on situation and matchup.

Ronaldo is Ronaldo, and Dybala has a chance to be great, but it's startling watching this Juventus team and comparing it to previous versions. Kind of reminds me of a rich man's version of Villa after MON. A lot of aging players on high wages without much quality depth behind it. They've adopted this philosophy of signing one superstar a summer and hoping the rest just sort of figures itself out, and it's not working. There needs to be a rebuild of sorts. Not rip out the studs and start over, but maybe some new floorboards and a fresh coat of paint. As for the reports Juventus wants Pep Guardiola....good luck with that!

I bet you'd feel different if Zlatan had been wearing a Villa shirt this year.

I'm not sure there's a league where Ronaldo and Zlatan still wouldn't have an impact. To compare Serie A to MLS, a league that's not even quite to the level of the Championship, because they're doing well there seems like quite a stretch.

I wouldn't hate it. Good shout.

Young, English, prolific....I'd say at least £50m.

I'm sure we are, but I think the bigger clubs are being hit harder simply because they're the ones who have the most "bonus" revenue generated from other avenues that just aren't there right now. Whereas everybody else isn't losing nearly as much from marketing and merchandising etc. Revenue that's already been spent for a large part. Everyone's hurting, but some will hurt far more than others.

Very true, but there was a clear drop off between Wesley and our other options, whether using stats or our eyes. That alone is evidence that Wesley was better than it's portrayed on this board. I'm not arguing he's world class, but he's unfairly derided by some VT posters.

We were a side that struggled to create and attack outside of one player all season long. He's not the kind of striker who can dribble the ball 30 yards to beat defenders. He's reliant on the ball getting to him in key spots to allow him to get a shot off. If we get him that service, he's going to score. I also think we tend to downplay his importance as a target man and linking up play from the back. That's a very important part of what Dean Smith wants his center forward to do. Wesley takes a larger share of the blame for our scoring struggles than he deserves simply because he was the big-money signing. It's a natural reaction I fully understand, but it doesn't mean it's the right conclusion.

He very well could be worse after the injury, but it doesn't change the fact he finished 3rd on the team in goals and 3rd in xGoals during league play despite playing in only 55% of our league games. He was also second on the team in goals per 90 minutes at 0.25 behind only Trez's 0.28.

We didn't change our approach until after the restart, so let's compare our numbers with Wes and without him BEFORE the restart. ASTON VILLA PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON WITH WESLEY (21 matches) Goals per match: 1.29 xGoals per match: 1.12 WITHOUT WESLEY (7 matches) Goals per match: 1.00 xGoals per match: 0.95 If you still think it's a coincidence it's only because you want to believe it so.

Don't like the idea of selling Wesley, especially at the price reported. I know it's been a while since we've seen him, but I'd have thought six months of El Ghazi, Vassilev, Davis and Samatta playing striker for us would've opened more eyes on how "bad" Wesley actually was. ASTON VILLA PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON WITH WESLEY (21 matches) Goals per match: 1.29 xGoals per match: 1.12 WITHOUT WESLEY (17 matches) Goals per match: 0.82 xGoals per match: 0.96 It's not a coincidence.

Signed Mahrez at Leicester. Alderwerhoweveryouspelliti at Spurs.

I'm fairly confident that no matter where they end up, the prices of Watkins and Benrahma won't total £50 million.

The thread is preparing a bid and will make it once it finds the key to the war chest.

Oh no they're fighting each other now

A name so random I'm inclined to believe you because of it.