Wes

37 minutes ago, ender4 said:

So what positions do we think we are still looking for incoming transfers?

Another Central Defender?

Central Midfield?

Starting Striker?

Back-up Left Back?

Back-up Right Back?

Or are we pretty much done unless a good deal comes along?

 

Like most others have mentioned here and was reported at the beginning of the month:

• backup left-back
• central midfielder
• versatile attacker/striker

I think those positions are independent of any outgoings. If there was to be a major/unexpected outgoing (i.e. Mings) then that would change of course.

Another question back - do you think we break our transfer record again this summer? £33m was the reported initial fee for Buendia last year.

And if we were to break it, give me a name of someone who it would be? For me, to break that record, right now I can only see it being Jonathan David if we were somehow able to pull that off.

59 minutes ago, mikeyp102 said:

??

I think tomaszk is saying that with Cucurella almost certainly moving to City, Brighton will be searching for a Left Back, just as we are. Brighton have a good track record in the transfermarket, so it would not be surprising to suggest our shortlist of options for the understudy LB role will be very similiar to their shortlist of Cucurella replacements.

Think that's one area in particular it will benefit us to move quickly - before we leave for the pre-season tour ideally.

I think Sosa would be too expensive for an understudy role with us. Seems like a potentially odd allocation of transfer funds to me. Can totally see him starting for a Premier League site this season though (perhaps to Brighton replacing City bound Cucurella?)

I think we'll be looking to spend around £8-12m range. Names like Quentin Merlin, Sergio Gomez, Miguel Gutierrez, Adrien Truffert. Someone from the continent whose salary we could easily double, which makes it an easier sell to convince them to play the understudy, and still not really dent our salary budget.

I still believe we're going to sign at least 3 more for the Senior Squad.

I think back-up left back will come in next, as that is not going to depend on anyone else leaving (with Targett already signed to Newcastle).

Central Midfielder (to replace Douglas Luiz who I think will be sold) and a versatile attacker who can play as a 9 or 10 will follow, but will definitely require players leaving the club.

Just catching up on news and see that Barcelona seem to be looking to sell Nico Gonzalez - 20yo Central Midfielder. Makes sense with Kessie on his way in, no matter what happens with de Jong. Seen some tenuous links with this player to Wolves in a quick google search.

I do wonder if he is someone we might look at. Had a little bit of a down year in comparison to his previous season (which makes him a more reasonable target), but has the positional flexibility I think we will be looking for going forward - he can play as a pivot #6 (although not in the same way Kamara can) but I think he can develop in to a good #8 in the future. He's got good close-ball control, and does well protecting and progressing the ball in possession.

3 minutes ago, CarryOnVilla said:

Would I be right in thinking Matt Targett would be the first bought player (not Grealish) we resold for more than £10m since Bentake? 

Yep. Apart from Grealish, haven't sold any player for over £10m for 6 years. That's quite the statistic.

Reports coming out this morning that Targett moving closer to going to Newcastle for £12m (they already paid a £2/3m loan fee in January making it £15m in total).

I personally expect us to spend a similiar amount (~£10m) on a back up left back this Summer.

I want to believe this is a part of some elaborate plan to bring fellow Italian Davide Frattesi to the club.

3 minutes ago, Tommo_b said:

Im more interested to see what Brighton do. 

Particularly as Dan Ashworth has left - although he has yet to formally take up position at Newcastle as they still need to technically buy out his Brighton contract.

I wouldn't mind it if it was a 1year + 1year option - like with Ashley Young.

Remember we can use 5 subs next season. The plan may be to continue Archer's development with a full season in the Championship, but still have three options (plus Bailey/Traore) for up front. Going to be hard to judge until the window is closed.

I absolutely love how decisively we move in the transfer market, and how "under-the-radar" we are as well. Just great stuff.

Welcome!

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. 

Quote

The paint had barely dried on the final coat of the 2021/22 Premier League season when Aston Villa announced the signing of defensive midfielder Boubacar Kamara from Marseille. The France Under-21 international’s arrival on a free transfer at the end of his contract signals the end of a long and happy relationship with his hometown club. He first walked through the doors of the Marseille Academy in 2005, when he was only five years old.

After making his first-team debut in a French League Cup game against Sochaux in December 2016, Kamara went on to make almost 200 appearances for Marseille. He was an unused substitute in the team’s 3-0 defeat to Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid in the 2018 Europa League final, but played every minute of both legs of the semi-final defeat to Feyenoord in this season’s Europa Conference League.

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".

Quote

Barça continue planning the future and combing the market in search of interesting players for Xavi Hernandez's project. According to the programme Què t'hi Jugues, on Cadena SER, this Tuesday Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff met with the agent of Aston Villa's pearl, the young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, a promising 18-year-old player.

At this meeting, Barça's sporting management inquired about Chukwuemeka's contractual situation and noted that right now the club cannot afford to pay for his transfer, despite the fact that he is a player with a very promising future. 

He is an 18-year-old Austrian-born player of Nigerian origin with a British passport who is already on the books of other Premiership giants such as Arsenal. He has a contract until 2023, so if he does not renew, he could arrive at Camp Nou in a year's time at zero cost. 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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

Quote

Aston Villa are ready to step up their pursuit of the Rangers defender Calvin Bassey after his standout season in which he starred in both the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals.

Steven Gerrard is set to raid his former club as Villa look to strengthen in defence ahead of the new season. The Midlands side announced on Monday that the highly-rated midfielder Boubacar Kamara had signed a five-year deal and that came only a week after Philippe Coutinho put pen to paper on a permanent deal.

Now they are looking to do more business, Gerrard having been given financial backing by the club’s owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, and the 22-year-old Bassey fits the bill. Villa scouts were impressed by Bassey’s performance at Hampden and Gerrard is keen to reunite with the player after bringing him to Glasgow two years ago.

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

59 minutes ago, TheMightyVillans said:

Hickey in for 10-15mill and Targett out for 25-30mill would be some elite club level business

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.