VillaJay

If we can keep progressing the team, McGinn will be reduced to a squad place or even be surplus in a season or two, however for where we are right now he has a role to play and will most likely play 30+ games unless our other midfield options seriously up their game.

49 minutes ago, Dave-R said:

Were struggling against Stoke at the moment at half time and people are against another firepower option being at Villa.

This god damn thinking with people, I just don't understand it.

If you think the solution is to go out and spend 40m on a backup centre forward because a rag-tag team are losing a pre-season game you're deluded. Other area's of the team are in more need of improvement and how many CL teams spend 40m on backup players, never mind a team building on it's second season in the PL? I don't know why this topic is still open? There have been no credible links to Villa recently, he'll more than likely end up at Arsenal, Spurs or West Ham on loan.

If we have 40m to spend on another one player, I seriously hope it's on either a AM or Wider forward that improves our first 11.

Rightly or wrongly we have a 22m backup to Ollie in Wes. Little to no chance we'll be signing Tammy this summer.

4 hours ago, Pissflaps said:

We still have some large gaps to fill and squad depth is a worry

I believe we'll make 2 more first 11 quality signings and maybe one more who can provide cover.

We finished 11th last season, behind Everton, Leeds, West Ham who I think we'll be stronger than all next season, particularly west ham who have Europe to contend with. Arsenal and Spurs are also as weak as they've ever been in recent times and 2 sides we comfortably beat past season. The buendia signing is huge, a significant upgrade and a new wide forward of similar quality will push us on another level.

Whilst our midfield options appear weakest, there's still decent options there and even Liverpool's midfield 3 are a great example of finding an unspectacular midfield 3 that work hard.

We've got:

The best Gk in the league (Emi)

2 of the 3 best playmakers/creators in the league (Jack/Buendia)

A 20 goal a season capable england international striker (Ollie)

A solid back 4 that conceded less than Leicester and a Moyes coached West Ham

An ambitious ownership that expect success and no doubt more quality to come in to the team

If we're not in the top 8 next season and pushing the top 6, I'd be both disappointed and surprised.

1 minute ago, Pissflaps said:

I can't imagine any signings will be made before the actual season starts. These things take time.

I think we'll see one or two before the season starts pissflaps

I've been a fan and defender of of his generally, strong as an ox with a good touch but that miss in the 2nd half when he didn't get on the end of a Guilbert cross was just another example of how he lacks that natural forwards instinct. I'd loan him out to the championship with a view to trying to get a good fee for him next season.

Its disappointing he hasn't really kicked on the last few seasons since that purple patch under Bruce in the champ but for where we are now and where we're aiming to go he's not ready for what we need.

His YouTube videos look better than Tonevs which is a plus

A real modern Pro, has looked after himself and should be able to come in and cover 15-20 games over the season easily. We have a really young team and another old head like that (Similar profile to JT) to cover Center half and we'd be set at the back.

The difficulty with Wes is that he hasn't really shown the raw qualities needed to be a successful PL striker. The layoff will have hurt his chances of success, but the guys obviously a grafter and has worked extremely hard to get where he is today, which counts for a lot.

Doesn't look like a footballer to me, however he needs to be given a full season with the coaching team to prove himself and I wouldn't be shocked but pleasantly surprised if against the odds he proves people wrong again.

Brave on the ball, that alone will see him go far. Maybe a season too soon for him, but my instinct is he'll be the one to surprise us most with his impact.

We need to be moving our senior fringe players who are never going to impact the starting 11 on to get players like Carney, JPB and A/J Ramsay onto the bench this season and start making appearances regularly if they're showing their good enough in training.

Conor and Guilbert would be the first 2 out for me.

Has a bit of the Kevin De Bruyne style about him, I rarely see us play through balls, we'll catch some high lines out this season.

A top class AM/WF and some defensive cover from really pushing the top 6 next season.

11 hours ago, Jas10 said:

 

1 hour ago, Mat Kendrick's Dentist said:

Sam Lee is normally quite reliable.....

A quick look on the city forum, says he's not reliable and only posts vague stuff that might/might not happen.

I think, as it stands it's more likely Jack stays another season with or without a new contract.

16 minutes ago, pas5898 said:

Regardless of the exact valuations, it just shows what a great job NSWE, Purslow, etc have done.

For all the money they've spent, if they were to sell up or do a Lerner tomorrow they would make a profit. 

Oh, and we also have 5,6 of the best under 18s in the country. 

 

Exactly that, and it also correlates to the most important bit too, on pitch performance. The team/players are playing well and improving all the time. A time will come when we'll sell a first teamer (Hopefully not Jack!) but it will be for a profit to be re-invested in the team.

20 minutes ago, Farlz said:

 

What a nothing tweet, they're "growing in confidence" "details still to finalise" modern "journalism" 101

To be honest I think anything over 35m for a player with 20 please games is a risk, and I haven't seen enough from him to convince me that we couldn't find better for that money elsewhere in Europe.

A touch high for some I'd say, but really depends on the demand, Ben White is not worth 54m in my opinion but arsenal are willing to pay it.

I really like Traore but can't see anyone paying 30m for him at this point in time, worth about the same right now.

The key is selling players at the peak demand to get the best prices, but all moot at the minute as we're not looking to offload anyone right now.

If someone offered 20m for El Ghazi right now though I'd sell, despite his great input last season. I'd then add another 15/20 on top and buy someone who can improve out first xi

Olise looks a talent, but at 18/19 he's unlikely to be a starter for us and would send the wrong message to our own academy players who are knocking on the door of the first team Ramsay/Chuk. I think we're looking to sign players who can instantly improve our first 11 and the young players will get minutes from the bench/cups or more if they can push on.

14 minutes ago, MotoMkali said:

Romano is tier 3 at best. He is on par with Evans. 

Romano is a fraud with a big Twitter following of deluded kids, he just regurgitates other links from around the web and tries to pass himself off as itk. How could he possibly have the inside track of nearly every top club in the big 3/4 leagues. The only difference with him and the other frauds is he doesn't go too big with his guesses and plays it safe.

Give him a contract worthy of one of the best players in the world. Will be out most important signing, forget ESR etc., 

No club will sign a player as good as Jack this summer, this should be our priority statement signing.

Just now, rayk said:

I think we need a bit of that nastiness / desire to win / taking the game to its edge…..whatever you want to call it.

He's not as bad a player as some posters are making out, however he is the weak point in that Brighton team and an area they are actively trying to upgrade in and replace him. I think Ollie has enough of that nasty streak in him already and in an ideal world the next striker we sign should have the potential to replace Ollie if we're to try and break into the top 6.

14 minutes ago, KMitch said:

It comes down to this:  Arsenal still want to bring in a "better" number 10 to start ahead of ESR while he continues to develop.  He wants to be paid the same or about the same as Saka, who is an established 1st team player and England International, but paying him what he's asking for will upend their wage structure by paying starting wages for someone they only see as a bench player for the immediate future.  He also knows that he probably won't get as many minutes at Arsenal this season as he got last year, especially if they bring in another number 10.  Then we come in...  We offer to pay him what he wants and give him the opportunity to play most/all of our games this season.  It won't upend our wage structure because we plan to keep him as a starter and grow with him over the next few years.  In terms of challenging for silverware, we're clearly a team on the rise and an attractive proposition for any ambitious player, and from the outside looking in, we're probably on the same level as Arsenal are at the moment.  The only unknown factor is he's a boyhood Arsenal fan and that may may play a part in his decision on whether to stay and play on the bench or leave and play more.  Jack keeps deciding to stay at Villa because he sees the ownership team is matching his ambition for the club and wants to be a part of the project.  ESR might not be getting the same warm and fuzzy feeling about Arsenal, especially after talking to Martinez about his situation...

This is exactly it, I believe the bids are genuine and ESR is interested, he's gone on loan to Germany and Huddersfield so I'd imagine he's not afraid to move out of London for a bigger opportunity and more money, despite being an arsenal fan.

If arsenal can't guarantee him a starting place or the salary he wants, a move to an upwardly mobile Villa would be very attractive.

27 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Have you watched ESR? With the lockdown, like most I’ve watched every game he’s played this season…he’s a real big talent.  I can only judge with my own eyes but I think he’s the real deal.  Nothing is guaranteed I guess but he looks to have it.

22 minutes ago, KMitch said:

Our scouting department has been on a roll lately...

• Martinez
• Cash
• Watkins
• Traore
• Buendia

If they have reviewed all the footage of him from last season in Arsenal's first team, the previous season on loan at Huddersfield, and the hundreds of U23 & U18 games he's played in for Arsenal and still decide he's worth 50 million, I'm backing him to be a star for us.  A bunch of delusional Arsenal fans trying to come to grips with losing one of the best talents to come through their system in decades can't convince me that one of the best scouting departments in Europe at the moment is making a colossal mistake.  

Fair enough, I trust our recruitment team to have a much better idea of his capabilities than I do, I've watched him, can't say I've watched his every game, but he looks tidy on the ball and looks like he models himself on Jack, but look very different players to me in terms of ability, even Jack at 18 had that same technical ability he shows now. I don't see that in ESR, but if the recruitment team believe he can improve us significantly at a club record transfer fee, I'd back them as they've shown they deserve that trust.