burchy

I think Luiz and Kamara are a top 4 midfield pairing so would love to keep Luiz.

If we do need to sell him though, sell him to someone who can afford him, not someone who is having to raid the back of the sofa (Juventus I’m looking at you). 

If we got upwards of 70m for him I think we’d be able to find a quality replacement.

Worrying there are no decent DM links though. 

If the rumoured interest in our Colombian nutcase is true, perhaps do a swap deal with Chelsea for Datro Fofana. 

I suggested him before he went to Chelsea and think he’d do well as a backup to Ollie.

Less of a head case as well

The Isaak Toure link doesn’t surprise me with Monchi at the helm. He’s known to utilise the French market a lot so would make sense.

He looks decent on the ball, skillful even, plus players seem to just bounce off him. Sign him up. 

45 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said:

Apparently we are interested in Isaak Toure from Lorient. He is over 2 metres tall.

Might be the Hermoso back up option, season heatmaps look remarkably similar. 

1 hour ago, Wes said:

Thought this was worth a mention considering our need at the position to cover Kamara... Moretto reporting that Feyenoord's 24yo midfielder Mats Wieffer will be leaving this summer. He's in discussion with a number of Premier League sides and one team in Italy.

The link to Liverpool with Slot is an obvious one that journalists might make. Spurs fans seem to be getting excited hoping it's them.

No link at all to us beyond the fact we are also a PL club looking for a good defensive midfielder, so put it here just in case.

He’s be a great option for our DM role and could give the option of playing him with Kamara when he’s fit again as he’s a bit more offensive than Kamara is. A kind of Luiz/Kamara hybrid (25:75)

As I’ve said before if it was my money I’d go for some experience at ST (Pavlidis) and ship out Duran.

I’d get Geetruida in as starting RB but also CB/DM cover.

Hermoso on a free, sell Digne and get Gutierrez in from Girona.

I’d also try and get Veerman or Baena as comp/cover for Luiz. I know Baena plays more left than Luiz at present but he could play more centrally. 

If we’re pushed for cash I’d play Geertruida at DM. If not then I’d try and get Wieffer.

I also think that we might be putting too much emphasis on PL experience. We’ve seen that we can mix it with anyone with the squad we have, it’s in Europe where we’ve played average. 

Perhaps if we want to consistently go deep in European competition, CL included, we need players that have European experience and that means players that may come from inferior leagues.

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

He cost Leipzig more than our transfer record

Only just above our transfer record. £30m odd is nothing these days.

8 hours ago, paul514 said:

Something new happened?

Nope, just using VillaTalk to vent

You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a decent striker, look at Openda, he wasn’t that expensive and he’s smashing it in Germany.

 There are deals to be had out there people. 

I really really really really really really despise Chelsea

His contract does worry me a bit as he's still only (only!!!) on £75k compared to our higher earners and hasn't, as yet signed a new contract. I think due to this we would sell, if the right bid came in. Not sure I'd replace him with Gallagher though personally

If we're losing Duran to Chelsea then we should go after Karim Konate who is a good backup option to Watkins as he plays in a similar way currently for Salzburg, slightly left of centre. If you look at their heat maps for the season just gone they're pretty much exactly the same. I do think we need a different option up top too though so would try and get Pavlidis out of AZ too. Watkins, Pavlidis and Konate would be very strong striker options for next season.

It would be good to have a CM that can ping decent long balls in transition for the likes of Watkins, Bailey etc. would be a good foil to have when against the higher placed sides. It’s the reason why I’ve suggested Veerman at PSV as he has about 15 assists this season or something silly like that. 

33 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said:

Has he eaten the pride

He’s big boned

Tried to unwerewolf my earlier attempt at a lion refresh.

Would prefer something like this than the new Lerner badge we’ve got coming.

Let me know if it needs a drop shadow as I know many of you love a drop shadow…….Not!
 

15 minutes ago, Adbo9 said:

I wouldnt rule this out......... im not saying he is good, bad or indifferent or that we should sign him but hear me out

His agency is Wasserman and looking at their list of clients I get the feeling that we have some sort of agreement with that agency for taking players on.   A decent chunk of their players are either at Villa, have signed for Villa in recent times and a number are the players we are "heavily linked" to.............. so Id say that as a club we work closely with that agency..........

Ill caveat that with ive got no evidence to make that assumption, I just think that could be the case and the reason why we get linked heavily with certain players

 

Geertruida and Gutierrez then please

I think LW/LM will be key to us next season. Granted Rogers has done well in the short time he has been here. Ramsey has lots of potential but will need time after his injury. Diaby can play out there but I think it's more a LM slot than a LW slot so for me getting in some real quality like the linked Xavi Simons would be perfect for us. Failing that perhaps Baena, Kilicsoy, Gloukh or similar. Xavi Simons would be an amazing signing though.  

26 minutes ago, thabucks said:

Choice of one Sesko or Zirkzee who ya picking 

Out of those two I’d opt for Sesko as I think he has a higher ceiling. 

We need a striker as if Ollie gets injured we’re screwed. Pavlidis for me.

The Kamara injury and to a lesser extent the Torres injury shows how one key player can have an impact. You could argue we have more depth in central midfield than up front and we’re all in agreement a DM is vital, I’d argue so is a striker. 

6 hours ago, RicRic said:

Lets say we complete the below

Raoul Bellanova (RB) £20m - Salary *£80K*
Mario Hermoso (LB/CB) Free - Salary *£105k*   
Nico Williams (LM/AM) £43m - Salary *£175k*  
Ross Barkley (CM) £2m - Salary *£40k*
Matheus Nunes (CM) £27m - Salary *£95k*  

Good Window ?? 

Isn’t Bellanova a RM as opposed to a Rb/Rwb? Think Nedeljovic will be our attacking fullback and we’ll go for a more defensive RB option but as just stated it’s anyone’s guess is this will be true.

Hermoso yes, Barkley yes (although only as a better squad option - would still prefer a CM and DM), Nunes no, Williams no (he wants too much).

I think we need a striker, Luiz competition CM, DM and RB. Barkley I see more as a bandaid signing, quality one mind. The Soler rumours are interesting as he plays more RM than anything else, so perhaps McGinn/Tielemans competition?

If we got Simons in that would be a real game changer, even on loan. 

Are we assuming Barkley is cover for Luiz? If so I guess I’m ok with that. I’d have preferred another two central midfielders to come in too though, one more Luiz’s age to push him (Veerman) and another DM/CM (Wieffer/Varela/Fofana). 

If we’re interested in Xavi Simons then perhaps we plan to move Ramsey a bit more central and he’ll be Luiz’s cover/competition (or sold!).

It’s hard to know what Monchi/Emery have in mind so hard to second guess on incomings. 

I know we’re a bit tied with FFP/PSR but wonder if the fine tuning Emery and Monchi have been doing since taking over will give way to a more proactive recruitment drive.

I only say this as a lot of the players here he inherited. 

43 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

Mate… that’s not highlights in his hair, they’re branches or twigs

I’d better go to SpecSavers