barry'sboots

15 hours ago, IrishVilla10 said:

Luiz, kamara, tielemans, dendonker. Who’s the deadwood? I can’t see us spending a big chunk of the budget on another midfielder, definitely not for what kone will cost any at 

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??

19 hours ago, John said:

A point well made, but they have always had a decent academy set up (particularly when compared with their first team). This one was stolen from under our noses, being from Newtown, as I recall, if only they had taken £15m from Spurs for him, they would have been laughing all the way to the bank:

 

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!

1 minute ago, nick76 said:

I think it would be poor business to sell him for £70m.  

The best teams tend to have a world class goalkeeper, the foundation of any team and so many teams that just struggle you can many times see they don’t have a good keeper.  

Clubs have so many hit and misses with goalkeepers that when you get a good one you hold to them.  

You would assume we could be spending £100m plus this summer and I would happily forfeit £70m of that not to sell Emi. I know it doesn’t work like that financially but you understand my point.  

Having a goalkeeper of that magnitude is the basis for the team and risking that on the possibility of spending half of that on another goalkeeper that may not work out is crazy imo.  You only have to look at Chelsea’s two goalkeepers to see issues and even De Gea has issues at Man Utd.  

It’s poor business because you’re spending a large chunk to replace him and he’s a difference maker in terms of points and games which leads to more money.  

Keep him! We don’t need to sell if we are aiming to progress which is what we are trying to do. 

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??

6 minutes ago, pintpotvilla said:

FIFA rate him as the best goalkeeper in the world!!

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

2 minutes ago, villaglint said:

Question - the one position Emery has mentioned several times he wants this summer is a striker. But I’m not sure we’ve been linked with a single striker except something about Vlahovic early on which isn’t going to happen. 
 

Interesting - do we think that our focus is more a second striker in mould of Goncalves or at a stretch Felix. Or is there a name out there that will come as a surprise to us all. 

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.

20 minutes ago, villabromsgrove said:

I get the impression that the only players who leave Villa will be those that we want to leave from now on.

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??

1 hour ago, MaVilla said:

 

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.

1 minute ago, ender4 said:

Yes, that's my biggest worry as well. Who will fight for Villa and the other 13 when the Sky 6 try to push through their own agenda?

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??

6 minutes ago, paul514 said:

I was listening to talkSPORT in the car earlier and they mentioned that Chelsea are after onana or Martinez

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?

1 hour ago, Delphinho123 said:

I think we’re after two wide players, Barnes being one of them, probably Williams the other. 

That would be

52 minutes ago, thunderball said:

Barnes is a good player and would fit in here, but we only have paper links on all this transfer speculation. I am sure Barnes is on our long list as well as 3 oro four other PL teams, but I also think we have other targets ahead of him due to his PL English Tax premium and Emery casting his net into Spain which he and his team know well.

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.

50 minutes ago, Pinebro said:

There is that but I think the main reason as to why non villa fans seem to dislike him is because of his activism.

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.

20 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Upgrading the best 11 automatically improves anquad players who d adds depth to the squad.

I get what you mean, but i'd rather incrementally increase quality each window, than to just fill the squad out.

First approach might be a bit slower, but more assured and sustainable imo.

Also less chance of being stuck with chancers on high wages.

The first team  " upgrades " would push a couple of our current starters down the pecking order for overall depth.

Those pushed down are still more than good enough for squad.

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.

3 hours ago, Philosopher said:

I would loan him out for a full season. Then we can see what he us really capable of. Preferably to a prem team, but most likely a top championship team. He needs a 20 plus goals season in the championship, or a 10 plus goals season in the prem.

Although Cam is short, he is broad shouldered and has that low centre of gravity. I personally think he is well rounded, but players like him tend to need experience more than physically impressive strikers live Duran. He needs to develop his footballing IQ, he has great instincts for goal scoring as his foundation that simply can't  be taught.

Problem is modern strikers need to contribute to the teams style of play as well as score goals. Even Haaland has the power to hold the ball up, and the pace to get in behind, even if his link up play isn't great. His physical prowess means he stretches teams that play a high line, and is a bully if you defend deep against him. 

Archer in comparison, needs to learn how and when to drop off and link things up in a possession based team if he is to make it as a premier league striker. Running in behind all the time won't work well for.him as while he is no slouch the quick prem defenders will be hard to escape from, and while he can become good at holding things up that is only when the ball is played into feet. This all requires games to develop his decision making and awareness.

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.

2 hours ago, Aston_Villan4 said:

 
Wonder if Inter were trying to include Chalobah in this deal somehow.

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

1 hour ago, Laughable Chimp said:

Probably not. Tbh, I don't think any of the players we're being linked to are a clear improvement to what we currently have. Which is expected, we're not going to spend big money to replace our big money centre back that we literally just signed this summer and is coming back next year anyway so we're not going to get good players.

This is why I don't really see the point of going into the tranfer market again. Anyone we're going to get is at best going to just be a marginal improvement over what we already have so what's the point?

 

 

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

5 hours ago, PaulMcGrath_5 said:

No I do not.

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??

4 hours ago, HKP90 said:

Maybe. Would he come?

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?

6 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

I think he would be happy to run down his contract if no suitable offer comes in for him this summer from a Champions League club. The fact City hold a sell on clause also complicates things as I assume we want that removed if we extend his contract. 

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.