Wes

Some transfer tid-bits in John Percy's Article regarding Emery's new Contract

"Emery is targeting two centre-midfielders [one holding midfielder and the other a box-to-box], wingers and a centre forward in the unlikely event of leading scorer Ollie Watkins leaving for a huge transfer fee."

Whilst this was never in doubt, this is the best news the club has had since Emery took over as manager in the first place.

Everyone is playing sub-par, but we are not able to get Douglas Luiz on the ball due to their efficient shadow pressing on the back four.

I think a rejig might be needed, McGinn playing alongside Dougie, Tieleman playing as the second striker with Bailey wide right when he comes on.

4 hours ago, Mazrim said:

Ferdi Million?

This is utterly sensational. Touche.

From David Ornstein's Transfer Guide this morning:

On Jacob Ramsey

Quote

 

A player generating concrete interest is Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey, with the England Under-21 international catching the attention of numerous clubs in both England and abroad.

Newcastle United have made an approach for the 22-year-old as they attempt to bolster Eddie Howe’s side, although unless they manage to achieve a significant sale, he is likely to be beyond reach.

Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich are also among the sides to have made their admiration for Ramsey clear, so if Villa opt to let the academy graduate exit they will not be short of takers.

That is a big ‘if’ because Ramsey has established himself as a key player and ideally this would not be a consideration. But funds must be raised before the end of June to stay compliant with profit and sustainability rules and that has alerted suitors, who believe offers above £50million will at least be contemplated.

Should Villa decide to keep Ramsey, there are other ways in which the money could be found.

 

On Jhon Duran

Quote

One way is via the sale of Jhon Duran. The Colombia striker joined Villa last January but has struggled for game time and goals. Unai Emery is not the biggest fan but Chelsea do like him.

Duran, 20, is viewed by the west London team as possessing vast potential and they have held dialogue about possibly doing a deal — provided the price reduces to a level they deem fair.

The prospect may be complicated by the ex-Chicago Fire forward being injured, however that does not completely rule out a switch as Duran would be seen mainly as a talent for the future.

Hermoso on a free would be a very shrewd signing. Similiar profile to Torres. Can also play LB if we want to play a defensive minded LB (much like if we put Pau out there), so offers something different to Alex Moreno.

Hermoso at LB when Frimpong (or equally more attack minded player) is playing RB?

Think this signals Digne will definitely be off in the Summer, which I think from a squad building point of view is the right thing to do due to his huge hit in wages. Hermoso and Moreno combined will likely be on same salary as Digne by himself. Also Digne only has 2 years left on contract this summer - last chance to sell him for a reasonable fee, generally with 1 year left the fee is usually discounted (better than losing for nothing).

I like these moves, particularly for younger players who are having to move country. By signing him now, and even loaning him back, we know he will be with the squad Day 1 of pre-season so he will be able to spend time in the summer before pre-season finding somewhere to live - getting all of that sorted in the gap between season end and pre-season started just gives greater opportunity for success as he integrates in to the team.

Romano isn't the source of this update - it's come from Rahman Osman and Romano is just riding the trending wave (as he does).

And "talks" do not mean anything anyway.

Martinez
Cash - Konsa - Carlos - Pau
McGinn - Kamara - Luiz - Coutinho
Diaby - Watkins

With Pau naturally staying back more, I think we could get away with Coutinho playing in front. That's the position in the 11 I'm most unsure of.

Noticed in the latest training video he was training with the First Team alongside Archer and JPB from the youth setup. Might be filling in alongside Chambers as the 4th/5th choice CBs for the time being, although a loan may be best for his development. Will be interesting to see what happens but he's quite clearly well thought of within the club.

1 minute ago, HalfTimePost said:

Why have you done this

Why have you quoted it?!

Matteo Moretto is usually highly reliable. Think this would more likely signal that Digne is on the way out, as has been speculated all summer?

Cash and Digne AND Bailey? Whew this is going to be an open game.

52 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Apparently going to be having a sit down with rob dorsett on sky sports to discuss how he has settled at villa and that he is looking for more signings 

Available to watch here.

Timestamp start is 44:30 on this video (Rob Dorseet intro). Monchi interview itself starts at (45:30)
 

Trying to look at any kind of silver lining to the Buendia news, at least it occured whilst the transfer window was still open.

With the horrendous news that Buendia has suffered a bad knee injury, our left side is really worrisome.

I wonder if we see Tielemans in and either him or Dougie moved to that advanced/left sided midfield role now. Might be a big ask for JPB to start day 1. Coutinho maybe?

Big blow and a big call to be made by Emery in the very first weekend.

Get well soon Emi. Will be a big miss.

The definition of a boom or bust signing. This is a big call by Monchi, especially after already signing him at Roma.

Martinez

Cash - Konsa - Mings - Pau

McGinn - Kamara - D. Luiz - Buendia

Diaby - Watkins

• I don't think we start with both Cash and Digne away at Newcastle. Can see Digne coming on later in the game if we're chasing a result.
• Think Buendia gets the nod on the left hand side - will get replaced by Coutinho/JPB/Tielemans in the second half depending on the state of the game.
• Forward line picks itself. Can see Diaby and McGinn shifting roles on that right hand side during the game.

And will be nice to have a full bench of options!

4 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

PL team bid 50 big boy€ for this guy. They AREN'T in the Champions League. If true, could be us? 

Could be although West Ham have also been linked recently.

Worth noting that if Hearts and Hibs both qualify, the Home/Away legs may get shuffled around - don't think both Edinburgh clubs can host European fixtures on the same day due to policing resources.

Bit different to the usual stuff and it's a slow news night so just to move the conversation along...

A Barca ITK (so as usual, take everything with a pinch of salt until a reputable source says anything) says we've offered for Ferran Torres:

• 4m loan fee for season
• we pay all his wages during loan
• 30m mandatory fee at end of loan

Marcos Leonardo... yes please Monchi. Love that profile of player to join the senior squad.