Jas10

What’s going on with this guy? Don’t think he’s been in any of the friendly squads, didn’t travel to US? We need to get rid if he’s not going to have any involvement, I was wondering whether Deano could get some coaching into him and have him as a reserve option for DM... How did he do at Kilmarnock?

He’s clearly not good enough, can’t be relied on. I’d prefer a proper DM to rotate with the starter but I’d rather we stick one of our defenders there rather than Bjarnason. He can do a job coming off the bench for one of the more forward positions, CM or even on the wing, but I think we should offload him and allow him to enjoy his football somewhere else where he can be a starter.

Really pleased with all the transfer activity but it’s just seems a bit crazy that we still need more signings to have a proper and capable PL squad. If we strengthen sufficiently, we will have good options in all positions. I think we may pull off a late or surprise signing on/around deadline day too, such as Benrahma and/or Butland. Imo, we at least need: A confident, commanding GK A starting DM (hopefully Luiz) and backup/rotation DM A striker or goal-scoring forward who can rotate or even play with Wesley We’d be in a great position if we get those kinds of players in and I would be confident of us having a really good season and surprising many people (esp those who continue to say we’ve “done a Fulham”, forgetting that we’ve retained much of the core that got us promoted). I believe in Deano, best manager we’ve had in ages. Potential outs - Kalinic Chester? I’d be happy to see him stay but we’ve signed a lot of defenders, esp if we get Luyindama in too. Hogan if possible and maybe even Kodjia if we manage to get a superior striker in. I’d like to see Taylor leave but we don’t have a backup LB, not even a youngster, so he’ll have to be retained and hopefully continues to improve. Would like to see the following leave on loan and get some development & game time - Bree Revan Green (clearly not good enough) O’Hare Doyle Hayes Ramsey? RHM Davis (could retain as backup)

Wow, what a story... Sounds like a strong, resilient character determined to succeed. He could do really well for us and become a fan favourite. I really like the focus on the personalities of players signing for us.

Rather we didn’t, one rotten egg or bad influence (overpaid, lazy, below standard player) could disrupt & disturb the whole squad dynamic which has been really positive for a while now. Seems to be a lot of togetherness and friendship between the players, looks like they enjoying training and spending time together. Deano & Purslow have also said that we are very much focusing on the character of the players we are targeting as well as quality. Been so long since we had such a positive atmosphere within the club and good relationship with fans. Times are looking good.

Doesn’t look like Tshibola was with the squad in the US so i assume we are looking to offload or keep him the reserves? Was wondering whether Deano would try and reintegrate him but it doesn’t seem to be the case so that’s one less option in MF. The squad does seem light overall...

Thanks for your thoughts, what is his technique/skill level like? Can he shoot & finish well? Is he quite clinical with chances or misses many opportunities?

Guilbert

An ambitious move for Ziyech?

Even better then

According to Dave Jordan, on the Jonny Gould podcast, we can comfortably spend at least £124m on transfers (19:00) this season: https://m.soundcloud.com/jonnygouldfootball/dave-jordan-yorkshireavfc-is-back-with-villas-new-premier-league-fortunes-revealed I think we’ve spent about £97m so far. It’s well a worth a listen anyway, very interesting with some info regarding FFP and more. I wonder how much further business we are going to do...

Maybe Bilic (WBA) could be persuaded to take him? He was after him during his time at West Ham... We’ve managed to get most of the shite out of our squad, would be great if we could complete the job in that regard.

Ouch, what a loss. How much did we pay for him, 12m? He seemed to be so highly rated before we signed him, West Ham showed strong interest before we got him and the signing was seen as somewhat of a coup for us. Tells you everything when Brentford fans (posting here) would not have him back, I wonder what they thought of him when he was playing for them and was banging in the goals though? Could they be persuaded?

Haven’t seen much of Benrahma tbh but many posters seem to rate/like him here so I would like to see us go for him, possibly a late/deadline day bid? He’s still working his way back to fitness after an ankle injury, hopefully he’ll be back to his best and it won’t have affected him, maybe we’re going to monitor him during preseason if gets a game or two for Brentford.

I don’t think Brentford would want him, I can’t see many teams wanting Hogan tbh and certainly not for a decent price. He hasn’t shown any value. I think our best, and probably only, option would be a loan move (hopefully with an option, or even better an obligation, to buy). Bristol City perhaps?

Who do you think we will (realistically) be able to sell and for what kind of fees? Bjarnason, Kodjia (might have attracted some attention during AFCON), Hogan (seems like the most difficult one) ?

Is Kalinic part of the squad flying to the US? Any players left behind? I just wonder, if he gets some game time during preseason, maybe he shows some quality and we end up keeping him. Hasn’t really had time to prove himself here, I have no idea why (if) we are looking to sell him and whether or not he is unsettled. Steer came in when he was injured and maybe just (rightly) kept his place for solid & consistent performances, it would have been unfair to just drop him as soon as Kalinic returned to fitness and we were chasing promotion so wouldn’t have made sense to disrupt that by trying to reintegrate him. Foreign players tend to need time to adjust and gel with the team. Just don’t know what the actual situation is, I doubt anyone outside the club does. Not fussed if he leaves and is replaced, just wonder if he could still make an impact...

Think some clubs will have noticed him in AFCON and show some interest, make some bids? I’d much prefer us to get rid of Hogan (difficult), and Kodjia is not a bad option from the bench, but if we could offload him for a decent fee it would be worth considering, he’s not getting any younger and probably isn’t up to PL standard and our style of play. Just wondering if we will be selling any players with all the quality signings we have been and are making...

Wow, what a signing! Feels like we’re being spoiled with all this (for once) quality transfer activity. I can’t remember feeling this level of excitement going into a new season! UTV!

Bruce to Newcastle! Is Ashley deliberating trying to sabotage the club?! Honestly cannot fathom how any aspiring PL team would go for such a manager in this day and age... Really hope we can take advantage of situations like this and push past these sides to avoid a relegation scrap. We could surprise a few people this season if we add some more quality to the side.

Fascinating interview with Petrov by Villa View: What an inspiration.

If Burnley are asking for 10 mil, wouldn’t Etheridge be a better choice at a similar price? That’s if we were ever really interested in him... It would be great to get a quality keeper who could be a mainstay for a fair few years. I really don’t know if Steer is up to it but competition brings the best out of players...