Mat Kendrick's Dentist

Ditto

Yup

I reckon that by the end of the window, we'll have a RB, 2 CMs, an AM and a striker in, and I would be over the moon with that.

Agree that we need a RB and an attacking mid, but for me we are absolutely crying out for a quality centre mid, and have been for many a year. Number one priority imo.

Played almost every game for Bologna in Serie A last season, earning a big reputation. Also I have no life

Can see what you mean, but to me Hutton is perceived as passionate as he is such an aggressive nutjob. He flies into tackles and berates opposition players, but shows no motivation or determination when getting back into position after losing the ball. Equally, he absolutely never engages a wide player, instead always taking the cowardly option - dropping insanely narrow and allowing an easy ball in from a dangerous area.

As others have said, it has been years since we've had the squad depth that is needed over the course of a long season, so let's not turn our nose up at it now. Aside from that, Diawara is younger and better than Lyden and Tshibola (not writing Tshibola off by any means, but Diawara is exceptional). Signing solid players to get us promoted is great, but if we can get one or two top-level players it'll not only increase our chances of going up, but it'll also mean that there's less of a turnover of personnel when we (hopefully) do go up, rather than being lumbered with a squad of "good championship players", who can't quite do it in the Prem.

Exactly, it's the players lacking motivation (Gabby/Lescott/Hutton/Richardson/Sinclair, etc, etc,) who have been atrocious in recent years. Benteke, Ayew, Gueye are the ambitious players who have tried to use Villa as a stepping stone, and have been the guys to shine (if you can for a mind-numbingly awful side).

In an ideal world we'd all like the same, but no top player will be dreaming of a move to the Championship. League 1 players will be, but I know who I'd rather us sign. Even the likes of Dortmund/Atleti are stepping stones these days, and it's clubs that embrace this current state of play that can punch above their weight, tough as it is to swallow.

Villa side. In response to SBS, Roma would like to keep Paredes, but it has long been feared that he may be lured away this summer. Player has been giving very mixed signals. What I find strange is that no other financially-able English sides (many of whom offer Premier League football) have strongly pursued Diawara.

We're still trying for Diawara. Don't think Juve are interested, but Roma and Napoli certainly are. Both of those sides expected to have moved out a midfielder by now (Paredes/Valdifiori) to release funds for Diawara, but this hasn't materialized yet. The player has made it known that he wants a Serie A move but I'm still hoping that Roma/Napoli can't stump up the amount that we're willing to pay. Wonderful talent.

Still trying for Diawara. By miles the most exciting player we've gone for this window.

Important that he has speed AND pace. Nothing worse that a player with great speed but no pace.

Pretty sure it's not!

We did. Gestede.

Every shot Ashley Westwood has ever taken has been a right-footed effort that narrowly missed to the left.

Sorry but scoring an own goal on purpose is ludicrous, and it doesn't help to propogate these ideas. He also took a bad knock to the shin and certainly wasn't faking injury. We have a massive right to criticize his awful performance but there's no need for this made-up horseshit.

Just Chester today, which still constitutes a good day's work imo. Though I can't see him playing tomorrow and Baker is also a doubt

I've only seen a handful of genuine 0/10 individual performances from Villa players down through the years. Alan outdid himself today though, and etched his name right up there in the pantheon of hilarious displays alongside Tonev vs Norwich, Sidwell vs Boro and Dunne vs Man United.

Anyone who wants Ayew out is insane. We have such an unbelievable amount of dross that you could make a case for almost anyone else to be shipped of to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but not Ayew. Not alone is he easily our best player, he's also hard-working. I couldn't care less if he gets the odd yellow and has a face like a slapped arse, he ran that slapped arse off tonight and offered the only semblance of quality on display in a Villa shirt.

Worst right-back in my time supporting Aston Villa.

Obviously not an ideal attitude, but worth remembering that Benteke, Ayew, et al went on strike before joining us and were well worth buying. Even Gareth Barry, who's seen by many as a model pro kicked up a hell of a stink to try and engineer a move to Liverpool. I'd much rather ambitious quality players like Diawara than loyal plodders like Westwood.

Ultimately, I expect it to end up like most things Villa - in disappointment. Despite this, the ambition and willingness to spend are very encouraging.

Haha, in general I'm definitely not, so don't get your hopes up for future tidbits rodders! I'll leave that to Agent Dave and the other pros.

Bid 100% gone in. Will be accepted. Agree that it's unlikely to come off, but not because of the price. That's €17m which translates to a pretty similar fee to that paid for McCormack. Wages won't be an issue either. In any case, the only way I can see us nabbing him is if no other club comes close to matching our offer.