Indigo

Without wanting to generalise too much, the issue with a fan base such as Juve's is that it's almost equivalent to, say, a United in the sense that large portions of it are made up of entitled supporters who struggle to find any positivity in their situation/squad because of the relative fall from grace they've had. I'm sure Villa fans would be losing their heads with excitement were we to sign De Ligt, would there suddenly be a mass U-turn on that when people realised that Juve fans don't particularly rate him? This could be applied to a large portion of their squad despite the fact that most of them would improve ours. The encouraging thing for me with Bentancur is that despite Allegri's previous comments, he's generally regarded as having had his best season under Sarri where he played in that 6 role. Even though it's a feather in his cap his versatility has almost hindered him from really kicking on as he's had to fill different roles for Juve and not nailed down a defined role, this wouldn't be the case at Villa and if he could transfer over the numbers he puts up in Serie A then we could be looking at a signing that at absolute minimum is capable of operating at the "next level" Villa are aiming to get to.

Konsa is literally amongst the weakest centre backs in not only the Premier League but bordering on all of Europe's top leagues for passing the ball anywhere but sideways or backwards. This isn't a dig at him - he's great - but him getting "more of the ball" only means Mings or Martinez getting more of it because looking for one of them tends to be what he does whenever he's in possession.

You thought he had a bad game then?

Maybe we should sign Kenny McClean instead. The fans of the team he plays for like him and there's no greater criteria apparently.

Obviously messi11 is a law unto himself, but I've always found it funny whenever the word of a few fans of a different side is taken as gospel as if people that support the same team aren't regularly disagreeing with each other on this forum.

In the hypothetical event that both signed it'd almost definitely be cheaper considering Kamara is out of contract in the summer.

Would have thought no chance previously but after Coutinho anything seems possible, and you can't really underestimate the significance that signing may have on future ones. Collomosse tends to be quite reliable too. Would be another real statement to get it over the line, he's the exact sort of player everyone says we need while also being versatile enough to play in several roles in midfield.

Quiet enough second half but everyone did largely. Has quite quickly become our best player at the moment.

Two dodgy passes aside (the consequence of one of which was a throw in on the halfway line, so no big deal really) I couldn't really fault him today. Largely played it safe after that with sticking it out of play under pressure but some massive blocks and clearances in there, as well as putting Gray off for the ball that dropped for him on the edge of the box. Double checked with Whoscored and Sofascore as well and he's among the highest rated players today (MOTM in the case of the latter). Could have had a beautiful assist as well had Watins been able to keep his first touch a little tighter in the first half.

Colour me not surprised at all. Such an integral player.

I think they should reconsider considering Nkethiah.

With the caveat that I think this is a perfectly fine signing given that he'll only be back-up and comes with decent pedigree, I've only watched the first 3 minutes of this video and it's hilariously put together. "Best saves show" despite the majority of shots trickling into his path, some of which he actually palms back into dangerous areas only for the clip to end presumably before the ball is put into the net.

Seen the quite hipster shout of Florian Grillitsch from Hoffenheim being suggested by some folk on Twitter and I think it's quite a good idea once you get past the PTSD of a certain someone he has a similar surname to. He's an out-and-out 6 rather than some of the names that get thrown around that fall more so under the category of box-to-box types that put up good tackling numbers, and has also played a decent amount at centre back this season so can cover the two positions. He puts up excellent numbers in terms of being in possession, from his range of passing to carrying the ball, and isn't too shabby at the defensive side either (according to FBRef he's in the 99th percentile for interceptions and ball recoveries). His contract is up in the summer too so he could provide an option that ticks all kinds of boxes. 6'2" as well which helps

Caught the last half an hour or so again on Sky's replay just there and he really did pop up with some big if under the radar moments. Couple of big interceptions/blocks at the edge of the box when United were about to get a shot away, beat Cavani to a header where if he lost it they were away etc. As well as the stuff you'd expect of him where he was dropping in to offer an outlet in possession when the CBs were struggling for options. Still need a CDM in regardless given that as it stands he's the only one that can play the role with any comfort, but it was another case in point that he has it in him to flourish in that position.

No offense to anyone involved but match threads are quite often a total cesspit. On the rare times I step in I remember why it's rare. Anyway, great stuff from JJ in the end, great to see how much he's growing. The only thing he's missing from his game is the consistency to be present in the game for the full 90 minutes but that will come with time and experience. Could see him really having benefited from a Championship loan this season where he could have dominated and come back full of confidence but equally there's clearly no harm in him mixing it at the top level and learning on the job.

Probably been mentioned already but the next 6 games (Everton, Leeds, Newcastle, Watford, Brighton, Southampton) are all winnable and thus potentially season-defining. Like what I've seen thus far from Gerrard's Villa so optimistic going into it.

You literally cried when Wesley got sent off in pre season.

Can't ask for much more than a player than runs more and creates more than any other player.

Both goals began with him moving the ball progressively tbf.

Shit happens, the margins are fine at this level and as off it as United are at the moment they have players that will instinctively jump at passes like that he under played. Thankfully he got bailed out a little bit there because the more patience he's given and the more minutes he gets the less you'll see that and the more we'll see what he's capable of doing over the full course of a game. There's obviously a player in there and he's clearly keen to prove it.

Tell you what, good thing Everton got rid of "shit defender" Lucas Digne because this could be even worse if not.

Sky included them in an article they posted. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12513492/emi-buendia-on-aston-villa-form-steven-gerrard-philippe-coutinho-lucas-digne-lionel-messi-dream?s=09

Gets through a lot of work for a player in his position. Runs himself into the ground every game.

3000 likes lol. Stay classy. Speaking of actually being classy...