Indigo

Stung by nettles?

Amazingly swift work from Villa on this one. The only real concern I had with Beale leaving was another season with a lack of continuity or at least a possibly disrupted pre-season while this got sorted, but they've really quelled that by not only sorting it immediately by getting someone in that not only would nobody have anticipated but also has an existing relationship with the manager that'll make settling in a lot smoother. Fair play to all involved on this one.

Posted this in the other thread as an outside shout, wasn't expecting us to go and get his boss instead.

Always hard to call with stuff like this, so many coaches that aren't widely known so there's no obvious names you can point to. Saw Mike Garrity get mentioned by a couple of folk which could be a shout. Had an interesting career path of working at Molde and with China under Lippi and Cannavaro in between his current role as assistant of Blackpool and early work at Liverpool alongside a certain Michael Beale. Ian Cathro is out of work as well and has always been a well-regarded assistant. He's largely worked under Nuno Espirito Santo though so might just follow him into his next role. Would have worked with MacPhee previously also so there could be some kind of link there.

Would folk be into the idea of Richarlison? Wants out of Everton, will likely be holding out for a club in Europe and cost a wedge but just curious.

Don't think it'd make sense for Tarkowski or any other right footed CB to come in now, at least not unless another left. I know Carlos has played on the left of CB for Sevilla but assuming Kamara comes in and plays similarly to Luiz in terms of dropping between the defenders who then push wide in build-up then it makes sense to not have a player on their wrong side and instead be looking at a Bassey or whoever to cover/compete with Mings.

Managed their B side. To a promotion last season I believe, remember reading at the time that it was their first in about 5 decades or something. Also had a similar role at Madrid that Gerrard had at Liverpool previously. He was meant to take over at Mochengladbach before he bailed to take the Sociedad gig though so maybe it's just a pipe dream and he has his sights set on a head coach/manager role, I like the idea all the same though.

Xabi Alonso maybe? Just left Sociedad, quite well-regarded as a coach and possibly has a good relationship with Gerrard. Just saying

I mean none of us are on the training ground every day so can't know the full extent of how good he is or isn't, but everyone he's worked with has given him rave reviews, in particular the manager he's worked under who has credited him with being the most hands-on in terms of the coaching aspect. Much like last year it clearly isn't ideal preparation going into another big season but as has been said at least there's a little bit of time to get things in order. All the best to Beale should it happen as well, seems a good guy and you can't begrudge him the opportunity.

I think folk are getting too hung up on just lumping players together based on age and removing all other context. Just because Cavani or whoever made the move and was alright doesn't mean it'll work in other cases and vice versa. Suarez was a phenomenal player and no doubt still has heaps of quality in terms of his finishing and so forth, but I'd more than have reservations about a guy who by all accounts has largely lost his legs at La Liga level, never mind a completely more physically rigorous league such as the Premier League. Carlos and Kamara are signings that level us up in their respective areas of the pitch, I'm not sure Suarez is capable of doing so over the course of a season at this stage in his career as much as at one point he was comfortably better than Watkins and Ings combined.

Had genuinely forgotten about him until this post. Boo to you for reminding me.

Wow. We really aren't pissing about are we. Another statement of a signing this.

Also just leaving this here for those worried about his statistical "mistakes" and fancy name compared to a certain other defender...

Good post mate, thanks for the info! Definitely matches what what I've heard and seen (albeit not a huge amount) of him previously, I think some of his mistakes have just been bad to the point they've gotten posted on social media etc so there's been more of a spotlight, but fewest goals conceded in La Liga along with his reputation speaks for itself really. Appreciate what people are saying about Tarkowski but if Carlos can adjust to the league and take his form with him then he's a level above, would be a big signing to achieve.

Get on board lads. (Ignore the Newcastle bit)

FBRef is a great resource but I find it a bit redundant to judge CBs off of, especially if you've not really seen them play. Their stats are dictated more so by the club they play for than any other position really. For instance VDV outside of aerial battles ranks among the worst in Europe on the rest of the defensive stats but we all know that's far from the case in reality. He's highly regarded by more or less anyone I've seen speak about him.

He's actually played on the left side of CB as Kounde (fellow Sevilla CB) is also right footed, so would be comfortable be playing either side. I love Mings but Carlos is of a higher level, there's the obvious caveats about how a player settles into the league and all of that but at face value it'd be quite a statement signing as he's been a quality player for a better side than Villa for several seasons now. He just balances out with some whopping errors from what I've seen. Not hugely frequent just bad when they happen. It's probably why a "top" club haven't moved for him but I'm not sure exactly, same with the lack of Brazil call-ups which also seems odd given how much his reputation grew since he moved to Spain. Would be interesting to hear from someone more in the know on it.

As a man in his late 20s* I take personal offence at all the posts acting as though players of that age are complete geriatrics. *

Was going to say, he's largely regarded as an excellent player but makes quite a noticeable amount of big errors at the same time. Think certain fans' heads would explode if you partnered him with Mings.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/talking-boubacar-66821066?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=postshare Nice piece on him above going into a bit of detail on the type of player he is and how he fits in at Villa for anyone interested. Features this lovely bit of work:

Even with that being the case he's still a bit of an unknown in that regard at this level, it was quite a while ago and in the Championship as well. We signed Konsa from the same side where he was described as being a ball-playing CB and it's subsequently looked his biggest failing in the Premier Leagie to the point where it's a contributing factor to him potentially being replaced now. Granted he's obviously a better pure footballer than Burnley's system allows him to show, but who knows to what extent. Regardless, would be pleased enough with this even if it's a tad unfashionable. Personally don't think his ceiling is much higher than mid-table-ish but he'd aid Villa in actually attempting to cement that themselves for a start and would be a dependable improvement on Konsa/Chambers.

Mentioned it yesterday but if there were a player we were to annoy Arsenal again over it'd be Saliba for me. Hugely unlikely they'd want to sell him to another PL side - if at all - but I saw talk that he could be available for around €30-ish million which could be a steal if he carries on his form from Marseille where he's been an absolute joke this season. Won YPOTY, named in team of the year and in the same team as Kamara at that which could be a help. Obligatory YouTube scenes:

Think he's a good defender but it's so hard to properly gauge given how specific Burnley's style is. They have the least amount of possession in the league, play in a low block etc so lesser players than him would still have good numbers in terms of blocks, clearances etc. Sign for Villa though and more will be asked of him in terms of being able to play in a higher line and doing more when on the ball. I appreciate what folk are saying about him having played for a ball-playing Brentford but that was a good while ago in the Championship, Konsa came with a similar reputation and as it happens he's anything but comfortable on the ball in this league. He'd be a steady if uninspiring signing for me.