Wes

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The most robust link we've had to Diego Carlos so far. Wonder if we see Romano put out a video/article later about this.

More on link https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/boubacar-kamara-aston-villa-marseille-tactics/

I like the Bassey link - like the versatility of Centre and Left back. Work rate and stamina by all accounts are off the charts. Still developing which is promising. Links to Gerrard's time at Rangers is a big plus also. As for Diego Carlos, my preference - and I think he's been mentioned by others on this forum over the past 6 months - is if we were going for a stand out centre back would be to try to go for Gleison Bremer from Torino. He's had a sensational season. If he doesn't end up at one of the Serie A European sides this summer, I'm sure he'll be in the Premier League. Really enjoying this philosophy of "you don't know until you ask".

So most likely "if Carney doesn't accept Villa's new contract, we will sign him on a free next summer"

The clues from Gerrard about improving "the spine" and from the recent Percy article suggests that those will be the three positions targeted. As for names, these are all the ones we've been linked with for this summer so far in those positions. Listed in no particuluar order and obviously some sources are much better than others. Centre Back Stefan de Vrij (Inter - via Football Insider) Victor Nelsson (Galatasaray - via Tumspor) Caleta-Car (Marseille - via Daily Mail. Note: They may have been mistaken as we were obviously scouting Kamara, however we could have been scouting them both.) Maxence Lacroix (Wolfsburg - via Jeunesfooteux) James Tarkowski (Burnley - via James Percy, Telegraph) Calvin Bassey (Rangers - via James Percy, Telegraph) Centre Mid Kalvin Phillips (Leeds - via James Percy, Telegraph) Yves Bissouma (Brighton - numerous sources, bid made in January) Joe Aribo (Rangers - via the Sun) Ibrahim Sangare (PSV - via vi.nl) Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Roma - via @AlfredoPedulla) Georginio Wijnaldum (PSG - via Daily Mail) Forwards Jonathan David (Lille - via butfootballclub.fr) Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid - via Daily Mail)

I don't think Konsa is sold this summer. He's currently injured, so unlikely that people buy him during his current condition. Plus he's on one of the longest contracts at the club. Yes, he's had a down year by his own standards, but it's a bit too soon to move on from one of the better English central defenders in the year. I think with the recent performances of Chambers, and Konsa's injury status, it's more likely that Hause will be allowed to leave but we will try to bring in a top level centre-back, a level above any of our current defenders, to force competition between Mings/Konsa/Chambers.

Incredible signing. Really well done by all involved. Another statement of intent.

In my view, the correct squad building approach would be to get a left sided centre back (or ideally comfortable on both sides) to understudy/rotate with Mings, then sell Mings next year with a year left on his contract. With Mings performs so well to the point we want to extend his contract, then we haven't lost anything. Barring injuries and such, the four main transfer decisions for the starting eleven I see for the summer are: Defensive Midfielder Future CB partner to Konsa Make a decision on Striker Situation Coutinho or new #10

Indeed! People should have a bit more trust in this recruitment team rather than the sheer panic that occured in here last night when the loan to Newcastle was mentioned.

Starting today for PNE at home against Bristol City!

Uruguay play Venezuela in WCQualifiers on Tuesday so any accepted bid needs to be soon to allow for a member of the medical staff to get across to Uruguay for the medical. To facilitate that, any bid would really need to be accepted in the next 24 hours for all the knock on things to be able to happen in time.

So obvious. Spurs flailing around and latching on to any potential deal moving at the moment. They need to appease both their fans and Conte.

Absolutely knew Spurs would get involved in this somehow.

Gerrard's January Signings so far - Combined Stats: International Caps - 162 International Tournament Wins - 1 Champions League Winners - 1 League Champions - 8 Domestic Cup Winners - 12 With Bentancur too it would be: International Caps - 207 International Cup Wins - 1 Champions League - 1 League Wins - 13 Domestic Cup Wins - 14 Quite clear what he's looking for in the immediate term. Interesting to see what the policy and long term strategy is like in the Summer.

Can see an agreement eventually being reached somewhere in the middle, it's convincing the player (and also stopping other clubs swooping in - I can see a desperate Spurs for example coming in at the last minute) that I think will be the bigger hurdle. Hopefully those conversations have already happened behind the scenes though.

There's the 4th CB. Contract was up in the summer so it will be a low fee. Can also cover RB in a pinch. Re-evaluate starting CBs in the summer. This is a good squad move.

With regards to the player, I would like Douglas Luiz to stay. To me he personifies our club at the moment; you can see there's great potential there, with moments of brilliance sprinkled in with a few lapses from time to time too. He also seems a great character and he's been here from the start of our journey back in the Premier League. However, from a squad building point of view, I can see why it makes sense to accept a large enough offer. Couple of reasons for this: The emergence of Jacob Ramsey in the Left-sided midfield three position Gerrard's preferred profile of player in his base of midfield three Only 18 months left on contract I think if Jacob Ramsey hadn't shown such great growth then our current preferred three would be Douglas Luiz - Nakamba - McGinn. I think Ramsey is simply ahead of him in the pecking order now for that Left-Mid-Three slot, and deservingly so. You also get many natural benefits when a youth player break through and plays regularly in the first XI, but primarily it shows the current youth team players (where Villa have invested very heavily the past few years) a clear pathway to the top. Douglas Luiz offers a good amount of versatility. He can play in any of those three midfield slots, but it would not be in front of Ramsey, Nakamba or McGinn - definitely based on Nakamba's pre-injury form. Considering the time remaining on his contract, if we can make a sizable profit on Douglas Luiz, bring in a player more in the mold of what Gerrard is after for a lesser fee and use that money elsewhere.... I think from a Squad-Building point of view this would be an understandable move for the club. That said, if he stays he will still be a good part of our squad.

Natural assumption the other club is Newcastle.

Evening Standard - Arsenal considering Douglas Luiz. Villa have already turned down a £30m bid from a Premier League team (not Arsenal) for him this window. Related to our search for a Centre Mid.

Think it's going to come down to if Juve want money now (selling Bentancur) or are happy to simply reduce wagebill for time being (Arthur to Arsenal). Then once that's been finalised, have to convince the player as previously stated.

Bentancur is the experienced signing. Regular international. Knows what it's like to win as a habit. These are the qualities Gerrard have spoken of that he wants. Kamara is the more club-vision signing. Young, talented, and only going to get better. Fits the tactical shape Gerrard and his team deploy. If we did want him, we wouldn't be able to wait until Summer. As a free agent I think there would be too much competition. Either would be a welcome addition to the squad.