chunkyluke

The most decorated player to play for us for a long while! I for one hope he is here, and can see him making the most of it. So come on and announce it!

Pires?

Fair call, Pires did win a World Cup after all! After looking it up I was surprised to see all Ade has in the theology case is a Copa Del Ray and Champs League runners up! Man city won the FA Cup when he was at Real, and the the Premier League the year he was at Tottenham first.

Hmm that said I see him making more the the 10- odd appearances Pires made for us!

The most decorated player to play for us for a long while! I for one hope he is here, and can see him making the most of it. So come on and announce it!

Maybe Sherwood plans on going ok school with the formation. Like when they played 2 defenders and 5 attackers

Him or adebayor would be good, don't think we should get both.

Supernova has already been ousted as an elaborate bullshitter, so take his expert opinion of Ligue 1 football/Ayew with a pinch of salt.

Elaborate? I think you're being generous there mate.

Erm, some of us do actually watch football beyond "the best league in the world".

All I can say about this Ayew is £12m is a very expensive cover player for Gabby.

From the Rolan thread, a player in the French league.

Anyone watch the froggy league give us a lowdown? What are his all important youtube credentials like?

You're basically saying you don't watch French football here. Can't have changed much in 2 days.

Which is it?

Any chance you are Delph? What with the sudden changes of mind and all...

Keep calm lads he's on his way

https://twitter.com/villatill/status/626420766666584066

Oh my god. Guess what kind of shoes he's wearing.

I saw that too!

best of luck to him. surely we'll have to sign another CB now?

Agreed. We must have someone lined up...

Cheeky swoop for Cahill

As good as he is, Cahill benefits a lot from playing alongside JT and the other class defenders Chelsea have. Very good player, don't get me wrong, but I always got the impression he needs real quality next to him.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3178660/Tim-Sherwood-warned-Emmanuel-Adebayor-let-Aston-Villa.html

Because all football fans care about is the money involved.

Just had the misfortune of reading this as well. Horrible excuse for journalism. Now I want Adebayor even more and for him to score 20 and prove all the naysayers wrong!

This article from the Guardian seems to have been lifted from here!!

http://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2015/jul/29/aston-villa-surprise-package-premier-league-season

Any team that loses their two key players will be expected to struggle. When that side finished just one place above the relegation zone in the previous season, they will be tipped for the drop. That’s the scenario Aston Villa find themselves in, having lost their top scorer from the past three seasons, Christian Benteke, and their player of the season from the past two, Fabian Delph. That there is a slightly unnerving sense of optimism surrounding the club before what is set to be their first full season under Tim Sherwood may be confusing to some. The fact of the matter is, however, that Villa have diced with death for too long and were in desperate need of an overhaul.

Losing key players may not have been the ideal way to force Randy Lerner’s hand in the transfer market, with the American owner still looking to sell the club, but it has restored a sense of excitement before of the upcoming campaign. Believe it or not, Aston Villa are well placed to be the surprise package of the Premier League.

The reinvestment of funds accrued from the sales of Benteke and Delph were always going to be key and Villa’s approach has caught many by surprise. Following in the footsteps of Newcastle United – who had some degree of success with the strategy before their spectacular collapse last season – Villa seem to have scouted extensively in Ligue 1. The new approach follows the arrival of former Arsenal board members Tom Fox, as CEO, and Hendrik Almstadt, as their first ever director of football.

Idrissa Gueye. Infographic: WhoScored Photograph: Infographic: WhoScored

The signings of Idrissa Gueye, Jordan Amavi and Jordan Ayew – who join Micah Richards, Scott Sinclair and Mark Bunn at the club – have given fans cause for excitement. The club will reportedly tie up a deal for another midfielder, and their third Jordan of the summer, in the form of Nantes midfielder Jordan Veretout. With versatile defender José Ángel Crespo also putting pen to paper and controversial frontman Emmanuel Adebayor tipped to sign before the end of the week, it will be interesting to see how Sherwood lines up his team this season.

Of the new arrivals from France’s top flight, Gueye looks to be the most ready-made for the Premier League. The Lille midfielder’s high-energy approach makes him an ideal replacement for Delph. The announcement of his arrival came before the former captain’s unexpected decision to stay at the club; a decision that stuck for just six days.

The two are comparable in a number of ways. They have similar frames and are both very athletic, but where Delph was given more of an attacking licence under Sherwood, Gueye will add extra bite to the midfield. The 25-year-old Senegal international was Lille’s star performer last season, earning a higher rating than any of his regular team-mates (7.41). With a solid 86.4% pass accuracy from 63.6 passes per game, he is well equipped to make the transition to the Premier League both technically and physically.

Veretout, at just 22, is understandably more of a raw talent. Nevertheless the Under-20 World Cup winner, fielded in a midfield alongside Paul Pogba and Geoffrey Kondogbia for France in 2013, is the talisman for an improving Nantes side. With a more modest rating of 7.07 last season, that score was still only just shy of Delph’s 7.08 and a significant advance on Tom Cleverley’s lowly 6.64.

Veretout is more adventurous than Gueye and would probably be given more of an attacking role. He scored seven goals and provided six assists last season, and is capable of driving forward with the ball and carving out goalscoring opportunities. His average of two key passes per game in 2014-15 was significantly better than any Villa player.

Amavi looks set to be the solution to a long-standing issue at left-back, where he should usurp Aly Cissokho and Kieran Richardson in the ranks. The 21-year-old had a sensational campaign with Nice last season, earning a place in our Ligue 1 team of the season courtesy of a rating (7.74), which was second only to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in France’s top tier. He made more interceptions (165) than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues, always looks to play on the front foot and is able to instigate attacks from deep.

The signing of Ayew from Lorient perhaps represents the biggest gamble for Villa, with most observers in France suggesting that they were forced to pay over the odds for the Ghana international. He may have ended the 2014-15 campaign with a respectable 12 goals, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. Given that Ayew attempted the second most shots in the league (112), a conversion rate of 10.7% was pretty weak. The 23-year-old was dispossessed (four times per game) and conceded possession due to a poor touch (3.8) more often than any other player in Europe’s top leagues.

He’s still very young and has plenty of potential but Ayew is far from the finished article and may both frustrate and delight in equal measure. The fact that a loan move for Adebayor is picking up pace comes as little surprise then, with the experienced striker likely to lead the line and mentor his junior team-mate in the process.

If, as expected, Villa complete the signings of Veretout and Adebayor in the coming days, Sherwood has every right to be happy with his lot and will be aiming to offload any deadwood before dipping into the market again. It will be a new-look side regardless, and a real departure from the days of Paul Lambert. That, for Villa fans, is just what the doctor ordered, even if it means losing the players that kept the club afloat under the former manager.

really sums up our situation perfectly. The whole is greater then the sum of its parts as they say. No doubt Benteke and Delph are both good players, but as a whole we are an improved unit. Also the signings we have made will better allow us to implement the football Sherwood wants to play, and that is a good thing. Lambert bought players for Lambert's style, wether you disagree with his style or signings is a moot point. Before Sherwood had to play with the tools given to him. Now he has a team of his design, I appreciate how ballsy it was from him to rip it up and start again.

Liked his little blow up after their second goal, he is not afraid to stick it up his new team mates for piss-poor defending! It's what we need, none of that sulky hands on head bullshit

Reports in France that the Nantes president will stick to his agreement with Villa.

le source?

Béchamel?

dont get saucy with me Bernaise...

Well you'd of thought so with all the links, maybe he needed convincing face to face & Timmy had to get the gilet out haha

or off as the case me be...

We've spent all this time developing him and he's pretty much ready now, would be a massive waste to sell.[/quote

Yeah, like i said before unless we have a specific target lined up, I doubt we would find a better value prospect/backup. Can't think of a non-starting CB from the premier league outside big teams I would rather as our deputy.

Noticed that he simply has no problem with throwing himself into the ground to retrieve the ball if needs be, I think he'd tackle with his head if he needed to and I like that.

so essentially he is a midfield Baker?

Gabby for the lulz

cissoko or bust I say

And Guzan can take corners with his amazing distribution

ffs this really is taking the piss now

by the end of it we will have close to half the Benteke money and he's not even that good

Think he will be a good signing, but you are right this is getting to be a joke! I would be tempted to tell Lorient and This agent exactly were the can shove said deal and move on to another bright speak striker. Time is money, and this transfer appears to be eating large amounts of both.

Ohh well, once he is in (or should I say if) I look forward to seeing him in the jersey, a lot of potential, just hope it's worth the hassle!

I think Baker will be a superb championship defender. I'd like to keep him in the squad but I could understand it if he wants to be playing regular first team football.

He has a heart like a lion, but his defending, to me, always looks a bit last ditch, all or nothing. I think he looks like a defender from yesteryear. Retro, you might say.

I thought we were selling him, now your saying he is coming back in a big way?

And his value will have risen.

They don't make CB's like the used too!

I always thought Bouma looked a little like a left sided CB played as a full back. Very good defensive player but the rest was a bit of a struggle for him. That said he was a very good player, and the last very good player we have had in that position.

Pretty sure he was a centre half for both PSV and Holland when we signed him and DO'L moved him to LB.

I guess that's why he looked like a CB then hahaha

Can't see that happening IMO.

I also have this horrible feeling that Baker is a player who we ultimately would regret selling for what will certainly be peanuts.

I don't know really.

If we do sell him to Burnley I wouldn't mind us letting him go cheap but having a buy back clause in the deal that way it works out for both clubs.

That way Burnley can afford him (I don't think they have much to spend anyway?) and should he do really well we could buy him back.

I think he needs a full season of consistent football to judge him if i'm honest even if it is championship football.

We could loan him but i'm not sure what his contract situation is.

I think that Burnley would be a perfect match for him.

In so much as that, what with all his concussions and head injuries we might be able to trick him that he is still at Villa.

"See Nathan, we aren't selling you. These boys are wearing claret and blue too, so they must be Villa"

"Nathan like Villa. Nathan Smash!" (Then goes on to smash something, presumably with his head)

I always thought Bouma looked a little like a left sided CB played as a full back. Very good defensive player but the rest was a bit of a struggle for him. That said he was a very good player, and the last very good player we have had in that position.

Benteke scored against United from a corner too.

Wasn't that a free kick from near the half way line?

He scored from a corner in the away game vs them.

We scored from a corner v Everton too. But I think the reason we don't score many from set pieces is we haven't had a set piece specialist since Young. The way he whipped the ball in was amazing. It was no coincidence we scored the most set pieces in the league one season.

Could Gill be the answer?

Staying on topic. Welcome to Villa.

Just to clarify, is this done deal? Medical happened or happening? Sorry got a bit distracted by goals, targets and French vs English league banter. I'm Jonesing for another offical site welcome post!

I think Baker will be a superb championship defender. I'd like to keep him in the squad but I could understand it if he wants to be playing regular first team football.

He has a heart like a lion, but his defending, to me, always looks a bit last ditch, all or nothing. I think he looks like a defender from yesteryear. Retro, you might say.

I thought we were selling him, now your saying he is coming back in a big way?

Alan Nixon saying we are looking to bring in a defender before letting Baker leave

Depends what we are looking for.

For a backup player I have my doubts we could find better for the price we would get.

However if our goal is to invest on top of the money generated from his sale for someone who will get/push for a 1st team spot more then Baker then it's not a decent call. If we keep Senderos and he stays fit then his skill and experience make for a great back up CB, he bossed it for us when fit and playing. His gamesmanship with Baleotelli against the pool was great, if not Illegal. Also brought the best out of Baker, and I reckon would do similar to other 2nd choice players.

I'm keeping my expectations low I mean I wasn't expecting 20 a season from Bent and we paid like £18 million for that guy.. Provided Ayew contributes with some goals and it doesn't feel like we're playing with 10 men every match (thanks Bent) then I'm happy. Yes £9 million is a lot, but it's also not in this wacky age of football. As some have said we'd barely get a good Championship player for £9 million and this guy on his day is vastly better than that. Yes he is still young and he is still very much learning his craft and growing, so my expectations aren't super high.

This is what it's all about. We are talking about buying and investing in humans. The mental aspect can make or break a player. Look at Falcao, look at Torres. Undeniably great players who for whatever reason didn't make the same impact with a change of scenery. Different surrounds, different tactics and playing systems, different managerial styles, all these and more play a part. At the end of the day we are just gambling. The clubs job is to make the most educated gambles, weighing up risk vs rewards at any given moment. I think for the money we are spending the risk vs rewards scenario here is in our favour.

Gil is completely wasted out wide. Needs to be played in the 'hole' behind a striker, or preferably two strikers

Ye, I thought he looked good in that role during the early pre-season games. Plays some lovely little through balls

All well and good, but look who they went too... (I do love Gabby even if he can't score in a monkey brothel with a banana hanging out his fly)