Thats2

We need to nab this Pedro Rebocho fella from Guingamp before Watford or Leicester get their grubby hands on him. You want to talk about fitting seamlessly into our style of play, go have a look at him, he’s a left back and he’s only 24 and he shouldn’t cost too much especially as Guingamp have gone down. I’d rather get him in than anyone who’s been floated.

I watch a fair bit of La Liga and these boys might fit our profile (young-ish, not overly expensive for the most part, good with the ball at their feet):

F:

Youssef En-Neseyri, Leganes (Long-legged and silky, lefty, presses hard, motor runs hot, still young only 21)

Enes Unal, Villareal

Raul de Tomas, Real Madrid (very two-footed, probably too expensive)

Karl Toko Ekambi, Villareal (Caught fire late in the season but they just bought him last year for 18M Euros so might be too expensive too)

Jack Harper, Malaga (Born and raised in Spain by Scottish parents, schooled at Real Madrid)

Wingers:

Brais Mendez, Celta Vigo (Like Jota wants to cut in on his left and much better offensively than defensively)

Enis Bardhi, Levante

Samuel Chukwueze, Villareal (Probably too expensive)

CM:

Stanislav Lobotka, Celta Vigo (Next Modric?)

Toni Villa, Valladolid

Pere Pons, Girona

Joan Jordan, Eibar (Arsenal target, creative type, rumored to only cost 12M pounds)

Oscar Melendo, Espanyol

Aleix Febas, Real Madrid

DCM:

Santiago Caceres, Villareal (Still young but shows great promise, but they just bought him in 2018 and he may not even qualify for a work permit in England as he’s never been involved in the Argentina set up)

Igor Zubeldia, Real Sociedad

Lucas Silva, Real Madrid (Forgotten man needs a fresh start)

LB:

Jonathan Silva, Sporting

Ruben Duarte, Alaves

Alex Moreno, Vallecano (Apparently Barca are in for him)

Marc Cucurella, Barcelona/Eibar (On loan at Eibar, they triggered their purchase option at 2M but Barca has an option to buy him back at 5M I think, which they may do, Newcastle reportedly interested)

Alfonso Pedraza, Villareal (Busted as a forward at Leeds but has been a revelation since moving to left back)

Junior Firpo, Real Betis (Tracked by Real Madrid, might get too pricey too)

Alvaro Tejero, Real Madrid

DC:

Mario Hermoso, Espanyol

Fernando Calero, Valladolid

Jorge Pulido, Huesca (Just turned 28 but good center backs can play longer)

Adebayorifice

So who are some good CB's according to whoscored? Preferably young-ish, French, named Jordan and bearded, of course.

OK, thinking about what the premiership squads will look like in the future...

So correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd say there's probably around 50-75 world class players playing today... that's factoring around 3-4 for your heavyweight champions league teams, and 1 or 2 for your sqauds a level below that. And there's probably, what, 500 top class players? That's a guesstimation, but it's sort of moot for my point... that being, that there's easily enough top class players to fill up every squad in the premiership.

And I think the Premiership is fast becoming the league of choice, what with all the money coming in and the big TV contract, English teams are going to do nothing but get stronger.

That being said, are we fast approaching a time when squads are full of nothing but (at least) top class players (excepting maybe the promoted teams)? And most importantly from our point of view, is this what Randy and MON are thinking? If so, it's imperative that we get the jump on other teams. Establish ourselves by the time the whole world realizes that England is the place to play, and we'll be in on every big name that makes his mind up late. Now, I know it's not easy to do overnight... actually, it's impossible, but it needs to be done as quickly as possible. By this, I mean spending more money now will pay off in the long run.... almost a price be damned approach, and we can back off some once we've established ourselves.

I also think we're going to have to take a flyer or two on some youngsters in hopes that they'll turn into world class players. World class players are not yet going to sign with Villa, but if we can get them before everyone realizes what quality they posess, then we're off to a start.

OK, so here's a question I've had. Clearly, everyone's more familiar with the players in England and some of the larger clubs in Europe... but I wonder, does anyone have any good info on any prospects from elsewhere? Players we could get maybe on the cheap (and who wouldn't mind being backups for a spell) that could develop into serviceable players and hopefully, stars? I know France is littered with quality players, but the area is so well scouted that the prices get driven up anyways. What about Germany? Or Turkey?

Essentially, lads that might not be that well known, but could provide an affordable lift? And for what it's worth, I'm sure the fellows in charge of the club are full aware, I just thought it might be interesting for this thread.

Living in the states and catching plenty of MLS matches, the only player I'm somewhat interested in is Ricardo Clark. He's young, he's got more pace than he knows what to do with, and as a holding midfielder, he fits a need. And I get the feeling he's ready for a new challenge. He's got everything you could want in a prospect, aside from a lack of quality competition. But if he could adapt, he could be a real find.

Any thoughts?

OK, how about this. In the states, the Pittsburgh Steelers wave small towels... hand towels... at games. They're yellow, and admittedly, look awesome when the full stadium is waving away. They call them terrible towels, and I'm sure Randy and the General are intimately familiar with them (since the Browns and Steelers are in the same division and historical rivals). Methinks a stand full of fans waving claret and blue towels would look superb and be much less annoying than those rattler things. And I think it would be original, at least for the most part.

Again, though, I defer to the traditionalists, and this is only as a new idea.