barry'sboots

Dendonker I guess. Supposedly 3 clubs in for him. Whilst he has been decent back up for Kamara for the latter part of the season, he could be upgraded. 15m for him, 7m for Marv, a bit for Sanson and we have covered half plus the cost of Kone. That would give us two genuine options for each of the 6 & 8 positions with Tim in the mix for Europe/injuries??

My Baggies mate is gutted about our latest capture. He always credits the significant upturn in their academy/youth production with Dan Ashworth who did similar for Brighton and is now at Newcastle - I would have loved us to have captured him!!

Looks like PSG are signing Kang-in. That would make all three of their signings, with Ugarte and Asensio, previously speculated Villa targets! We appear to be fishing in the right pond but our maggots are clearly not big enough!

Don't disagree. I love him and would want to keep him, although I'm not sure he'll have the longevity of many keepers as he's quite a heavy build. But what if he wants to go??

FIFA thought Russia and Qatar were great locations for a world cup!

Yes. I would think the striker may well be a wide player who can play alongside Ollie. I know there is a number that don't see the fit but Barnes has scored nearly as many Ollie last season in a poor Leicester side playing up top with a mix of Vardy, Daka or Ineacho - just imagine what he could do in a better side with service.

I'd love to think this could be the case but there will probably always be bigger clubs .... Citeh, Real, Barca, Bayern, Utd etc ... that will be able to pull star players out of next level sides. It would have been really interesting to see what Jack would have done if he was here under UE now and Citeh came calling??

He seemed a very balanced journo and gave a really good insight. As Dan says, pretty much confirms what most of us thought we knew and the signing looks very strong.

Maybe Naseef will get more involved in the PL meetings arena - he is based in London isn't he? I could imagine he comes across pretty well and not to be messed with??

Wouldn't be a huge surprise with Bohly would it. I love Emi but if we got, say, 70m and could go out and get Bono for, say 40m which puts 30m in the pot for signings and meant we could afford Goncalves and Williams (as an example) would people be upset?

That would be

I feel the same but I think 1. That tax is partially justified as they are proven in the PL and it is different: and 2. That tax is always partly reduced by a relegation.

I make a strong 10 - the usual starting XI minus Buendia/Bailey and Young plus Cash. Which leaves one gap - a partner for Ollie - which I would love to see Barnes fill. I would then see 5 decent reserves - Carlos (who could start), Digne (who could move on but would need replacing), Dendonker (who has looked a more than decent understudy for Kamara during the back half of the season), Buendia and Bailey. Given that we were the second best side in the PL under UE, at least since X-mas, I don't think we need obvious replacements/upgrades to the first XI, other than Ollie's strike partner, but rather competing/rotation/sub options. Indeed, upgrades will probably be joining UCL clubs e.g. Ugarte. I would ideally like to see a squad of 22 plus Iregboenum and Archer, with two for each position. With 9 subs, injuries, rotation and Europe we should be able to keep everyone happy, especially if there is minimal drop off in quality in the second string so UE is not afraid to use them. I make that 7 additions.

Based on what? I wasn't a huge Mings fan - he did have a rick in him and he seemed to allow certain strikers - eg Bamford and Zaha - to get into his head and ruin his game. I think opposition fans will have seen this as well. He has absolutely addressed that since UE has arrived and is rightly now one of if not the first names on the team sheet. I don't agree with BLM as an organisation although I am all for the removal of racism, but I respect Tyrone's right to participate if he believes that is the right way to achieve the removal of racism and I would think most reasonable minded opposition fans would feel the same. The jump to an assumption that most people revert to racism when it's an opposition player is somewhat lazy imho e.g. I dislike Zaha, but it's not because he is black but rather because he is a diver - I do think he is a good player though. If people don't like black players per se I'm not sure why they watch the PL - it must be 40% plus black nowadays?? Having said the above, I am surprised by the links to several top centre backs. Torres and Laporte would both expect to start/play the majority of games at Villa (hoping Maguire is bogus) and I don't see the need given that we have three very strong options. I could see a younger 4th choice replacing chambers and competing with Feeney for a chance.

Equally, signing strong squad players, eg KWP at RB, can push your first team to higher levels. We need a bigger squad/more bodies if we are to compete on four fronts and progress in the PL but we can't, and shouldn't replace, too many first team players in one window given (1) our budget/the cost of significant upgrades; and (2) the fact that we have been the second or third best team in the PL since UE has been here. A player like Goncalves - to rotate with JJ and SJM - and one of Chukweuze/Williams/Barnes to partner Ollie would be where I would prioritise. That's £100m plus gone. Then you've got to work hard with the remaining £50-100m or so (assuming our budget is £150m'ish plus anything raised) to ensure we have the necessary bodies/depth in quality.

I would normally have my own strong views on who I would like us to sign but we seem to be heading in a direction that we haven't been before - strongly upwards - and that is down to UE so whatever he wants to do is fine with me! We would have pretty good back up for Luiz and Kamara with the Belgian second choice midfield of Dendonker and Tielemans (if Tielemans came in), with the latter certainly a massive upgrade on Marv!! I think, alongside Mings and Emi, Luiz and Kamara have been our best players so it is going to be hard to bring in upgrades in the double pivot area. Equally, anybody who is an upgrade/on a par is probably heading to a UCL side (e.g. Ugarte to PSG). Given that we have been the second/third best team in the PL since UE arrived, the key for me is to maintain that form. Obviously, we need a more consistent partner for Ollie - and that would be where I would be focusing a significant chunk of my budget - and I will allow UE to work out where else he wants to spend to ensure we have the necessary depth to play in Europe whilst still progressing in the PL. And if it takes a few quality free transfers to pad out our squad and allow UE to focus on getting real quality in a few key areas then I am cool with that.

I'm torn - a season with a PL team scrapping for survival would show him in the PL (like Gallagher with Palace) but a season with a top championship side would show us what he could do for a side with possession which is hopefully what we are becoming. regardless, I hope that he gets another loan move to show what he can do before we make a decision.

More good news for Chukmoneymaker - even less chance of first team minutes.

But if you get a young one with potential you can hopefully develop them to be better?

Why not? Massively experienced and coming from a CL club. He could have been really good for us if he was used to his strengths??

If he'd come to the current Everton why would he not come to a better and more progressive team like Villa where he also knows the area etc.

I see Everton are linked with taking Geuye back. I know people want Sangare but do you think a two year contract for Geuye and then using him properly would be worth looking at?

I thought they had a buyback option and not a sell on clause?

That's a stunning deal for us for a kid that needs to do a lot before he is capable of playing PL football let alone top 6. He is good on the ball but I saw little from him without the ball in his limited game time for us or for the u-19s. Personally, I hope we don't collect any more transfer fee. I would rather he doesn't make it and we are over the moon with 10-15m than he smashes it and we get an extra 5-10m.

He'd be my captain from what I can see. Seems really well liked and respected, never in trouble, and plays in the centre of the park. I also think, when used properly, he is one of our best players. I see a big season for SJM with Kamara behind him and anymore settled and fit group of inside forwards in front of/around him.