wilko154

Remember that time we thought we were going to spend £45 million on Maxi Gomez? Good times

There’s no chance we get Abraham back. With Higuan and Morata leaving Chelsea are now left with only Giroud, Batshuayi and Abraham. Its almost the perfect chance for Abraham to show what he’s about with Lampard proven at giving youth a chance.

This Axel Tuanzebe fella seems like some player judging from this YouTube video. Anyone know much about him?

If Everton Riberio doesn’t end up at Everton something is wrong in the world.

Fantastic signing, and for what we are getting I have no problem with over paying. The main thing we are getting with Mings is continuity, keeping as much of your winning team together going into next season is bigger than some people realise. In the second half of last season Mings was our talisman at the back. There is no better statistic to prove this than the fact that without him we conceded 49 goals in 31 games. With him we conceded 15 goals in 18 games. A lot of people are comparing us to Fulham currently, but for me this transfer is the opposite of Fulham’s business last season. Ironically, in Matt Targett they had a solid left back brought in during the January window and played 18 games on their run to playoff victory. However after achieving promotion they opted not to pay the £20 million Southampton were demanding, and instead took Joe Bryan for £6 million. Bryan has been a flop in a shambles of a defence which saw them relegated. Glad to get this one sorted, and early next week we will be able to move on to sorting the rest of the squad out knowing that our back line is looking a lot more secure going into the new season.

Personally not panicking yet in this transfer window. As people have mentioned Purslow, Suso and Smith are going to have to be pretty cautious with how they finish off building the squad financially. It’s a bit of a jigsaw puzzle with the £60-90 million we are estimating we have left to spend. I have full faith that we are working to get players in that we have identified or moving onto the next target when we are priced out or being taken for a ride. A lot has been made of Mings not signing yet, but if they are overpricing him then I fully expect the board to work to do what works for Aston Villa FC. Overpaying for players isn’t something we should be doing at the beginning of July. Pre-season has only just begun, and with most of the squad still on holiday due to internationals the urgency isn’t currently there. You could argue that the USA tour is of little importance, new signings will settle quicker being in Birmingham organising their personal lives and getting to know BMH rather than being rushed over the pond for a exhibition game. The prices of players has gotten stupid this season; realistically it’s the worst time for it to happen, we need to bring in 10-12 players in various positions to be competitive next season. This means the board have to get it right this season. If we can achieve a comfortable finish next season we can then spend the summer picking and choosing players to really strengthen, just as teams around us are now doing. The odd £20-30 million player to strengthen an already competitive squad no longer hurts PL teams, however with the work we have it’s a daunting task currenly. Don't forget we still have the chance to offload a couple of players, Kalinic, Nyland, Bjarnasson, Lansbury & Tshibola are all fringe players with potential to add to the transfer budget. I would also expect to see a few incomings for cheap ala Jota/Hause, possibly some freebies and some loans with options to buy. No need to panic yet.

Aston Gay Pride weekend?

For me now that Tuanzebe has signed a new contract at Man Utd I wouldn't be interested in taking him back on loan if the chance were to arise. It's been said before but we shouldn't be developing other teams players whilst in the PL, unless we have the benefit of being able to sign them later on with an option to buy. It's a shame as he is a class player who will no doubt go on to play for England.

Anyone know if these are the real deal?

Zero bites on this, VT I'm impressed yet disappointed!

It's July 5th, the transfer window for European clubs opened on July 1st. There's still plenty of time and so far we have already completed 5 signings. How do you know we are 'messing around with Phillips'? Chances are there is already a deal in place or we have moved onto our next target. Chill, it's all in hand.

Let's see how much nonsense Villa Report makes up today.

Would like to see us put a bid in for William Carvalho. It's most likely he would turn us down, but I would rather see us spend £25 million on a proven international than Phillips as an unproven player outside of the Championship.

Thanks! We will make sure we do the bulk of it on Saturday and have a chilled day on Sunday then

We are in Cologne on Sunday, leave for Amsterdam Monday morning. Is it just the shops that shut down or is it bars/restaurants?

Bit of a list but heading to these cities next week, 2 days each. Any recommendations on what to see in each one and any bar/restaurants worth a visit?

Will be buying at least one of those training tops, first time in years.

Something like this in pre-season?

Only Football Manager but... Targett has been my left back on FM19 since I got Villa promoted, similar fee to what we are going to be paying for him. He's been one of my most consistent performers. I hope he lives up to the this FM save!

Been busy this weekend, finally caught up on this thread. 10 pages of fish puns and not a signing in sight!

Or maybe he just changed his profile picture to his academy to help promote them, whilst stopping a backlash from Bournemouth fans who are his current club.