Winter transfer window 2020/1

[lexicon]

20 minutes ago, nick76 said:

While I'm not disagreeing with you, I would like to move away from the transfer policy of buying back up players. 

We should be buying players to go into the first XI and making the current incumbent the back up. 

We are a good team but far from a great team so we have to continue to grow organically but also through acquisition. 

Jack is our only world class players therefore we always have players elsewhere in the first team that can be replaced.  

I'm not advocating replacing players, especially as I love the growth and improvement in a lot of them but we shouldn't be blindly loyal to them and if we want to continue growing then we need to keep improving quality even if that is replacing or making back up players we like. 

Buying back up players really doesnt advance you much apart from cover for injuries, form, tiredness and suspensions, the "at least" you should buy is an "alternative" so it becomes a managers headache of who should play and not a foregone conclusion, which we currently have for most positions.

I get what you're saying Nick, it's just a difficult thing to do when your current LB is worth at least 20m. The kind of player who would be an upgrade would be expensive and it's unlikely that he'd come without guarantees of first team football, as while we've improved, we're not in a position to do that yet. It's hard to buy squad options that are both of the quality we want, have the right attitude (i.e. not just there for the dough) and willing to take the chance that they'll be sitting on the bench. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by lexicon

[nick76]

14 minutes ago, Steero113 said:

I think the entire fan base would agree with the sentiment that Martinez is most definitely world class. 

Other than that I totally agree with you, we should be aiming for better and using our new found progress as a launching pad to attract the caliber of player that we couldn't before. 

Yeah sorry, Martinez has been world class....good point, my bad!

[KenjiOgiwara]

39 minutes ago, hong0311 said:

Left back is the position that we should be looking to either add depth or improve. Wonder what left backs are realistically feasible given that he is:

- Under the age of 25

- Instant upgrade to Targett

- Wants to come to Villa of course

 

A wildcard I thought of would be Junior Firpo, who didn’t really impress in Barcelona but might revive in a brand new club. Wouldn’t call it an ‘instant upgrade’ though.

Surely the most important business we can do is to make sure we have a quality player in each position? We currently do not have one for right winger. 

I can understand the argument for additions both at CB, LB and striker, but competition for places is another thing methinks. 

LW - Grealish/AEG 

CAM - Barkley/Grealish/Traore

RW - Trez/Traore/AEG but neither of these are good enough RW for where we want to go IMO. 

[villa4europe]

42 minutes ago, Steero113 said:

Firpo linked with West Ham and Wolves.

wolves currently have ait nouri struggling to get games at LB so would be very surprised if he ended up there, west ham have cresswell too so he'd be back up there, he's playing in the CL games and back up in the league, i dont think he's got a long term future there as they have miranda out on loan and cucurella i think has a buy back clause

going from being a back up at barca to a back up at a mid table PL club would be a strange move

and id rather the club were more forward thinking, if barca have to sell in order to balance the books and know that long term alba is going so they're going to flog firpo and integrate miranda next season then we should test the waters and go after miranda instead...(not a clue how hes done at betis)

[Zatman]

4 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

wolves currently have ait nouri struggling to get games at LB so would be very surprised if he ended up there, west ham have cresswell too so he'd be back up there, he's playing in the CL games and back up in the league, i dont think he's got a long term future there as they have miranda out on loan and cucurella i think has a buy back clause

going from being a back up at barca to a back up at a mid table PL club would be a strange move

and id rather the club were more forward thinking, if barca have to sell in order to balance the books and know that long term alba is going so they're going to flog firpo and integrate miranda next season then we should test the waters and go after miranda instead...(not a clue how hes done at betis)

Cucurella is no longer connected to Barcelona 

[TheMightyVillans]

We should sign a left back.

Loan out davis and sign another striker who is more proven in the Premier League

Loan out guilbert and hope he can challenge cash for next season if elmo leaves.

Sign another centre back if engels leaves.

[Steero113]

6 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

wolves currently have ait nouri struggling to get games at LB so would be very surprised if he ended up there, west ham have cresswell too so he'd be back up there, he's playing in the CL games and back up in the league, i dont think he's got a long term future there as they have miranda out on loan and cucurella i think has a buy back clause

going from being a back up at barca to a back up at a mid table PL club would be a strange move

and id rather the club were more forward thinking, if barca have to sell in order to balance the books and know that long term alba is going so they're going to flog firpo and integrate miranda next season then we should test the waters and go after miranda instead...(not a clue how hes done at betis)

Good post. Not sure that Miranda (if he's done well at RB) would want to entertain a move to us if he knows Barca are likely to have him back but would be worth a try. 

I'd be delighted with either of them tbh, we've done business with Barca before so its doable. 

 

[lexicon]

13 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

Surely the most important business we can do is to make sure we have a quality player in each position? We currently do not have one for right winger. 

I can understand the argument for additions both at CB, LB and striker, but competition for places is another thing methinks. 

LW - Grealish/AEG 

CAM - Barkley/Grealish/Traore

RW - Trez/Traore/AEG but neither of these are good enough RW for where we want to go IMO. 

I wonder how long you'll be banging on about Traore not being good enough for 

3 goals and 2 assists in 615 minutes, is a contribution ever 1.36 games, which is only slightly worse than Marcus Rashford and better than Mane this season. 

Please continue though, your blind hatred for him is pretty amusing tbf. 

 

[ferguson1]

How long has the January window been open for?  No signings announced yet?

Smith and NSWE out! 

[VillaFaninLondon]

1 hour ago, nick76 said:

While I'm not disagreeing with you, I would like to move away from the transfer policy of buying back up players. 

We should be buying players to go into the first XI and making the current incumbent the back up. 

We are a good team but far from a great team so we have to continue to grow organically but also through acquisition. 

Jack is our only world class players therefore we always have players elsewhere in the first team that can be replaced.  

I'm not advocating replacing players, especially as I love the growth and improvement in a lot of them but we shouldn't be blindly loyal to them and if we want to continue growing then we need to keep improving quality even if that is replacing or making back up players we like. 

Buying back up players really doesnt advance you much apart from cover for injuries, form, tiredness and suspensions, the "at least" you should buy is an "alternative" so it becomes a managers headache of who should play and not a foregone conclusion, which we currently have for most positions.

This is exactly my thinking. No point buying players to be backup, otherwise we'd be buying more Taylors and Elmos and we need better.

 

Targett has certainly improved and is probably playing above his natural ability at the moment, and it's always harsh to displace someone who is performing so well, but to grow as a team that's what we have to do. Targett will find bringing in someone better than him will help him grow too, and he will still get plenty of game time as FB is a position which (in my opinion) should be rotated in the modern game. 

 

Zinchenko has been linked with a few teams around our level and is probably obtainable for us, but he like Targett seems a bit slow (but I think he's a better player than Targett). I think we need to be looking for a really athletic LB who can get up and down and has the stamina to do it. This may be a job in the summer though as I don't see us splashing big money on a LB in this window.

[BG_Villa_Fan]

I'm not bothered about this transfer window at all. Unlike last season we don't really need anyone.

For the first time in forever I'm confident this team is run well and know exactly what they're doing , so they'll figure out how to improve the team, whether now or more likely in the summer. 

[KenjiOgiwara]

27 minutes ago, lexicon said:

I wonder how long you'll be banging on about Traore not being good enough for 

3 goals and 2 assists in 615 minutes, is a contribution ever 1.36 games, which is only slightly worse than Marcus Rashford and better than Mane this season. 

Please continue though, your blind hatred for him is pretty amusing tbf.

There's more to being a rw than that. Doesn't help if you're CB scores 10 goals if you concede like nothing else. Work rate and pace to relieve pressure is quite essential.

And that's before we discuss goals and chances against us he was involved in.

But we'll see the next couple of months on his contribution. I'll save your post and we can talk again.

But please learn what the word hate means. Try too google it.

[lexicon]

13 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

There's more to being a rw than that. Doesn't help if you're CB scores 10 goals if you concede like nothing else. Work rate and pace to relieve pressure is quite essential.

And that's before we discuss goals and chances against us he was involved in.

But we'll see the next couple of months on his contribution. I'll save your post and we can talk again.

But please learn what the word hate means. Try too google it.

Always check before you start going on about literacy. 

I'll be delighted to revisit this soon 

[KenjiOgiwara]

5 minutes ago, lexicon said:

Always check before you start going on about literacy. 

I'll be delighted to revisit this soon 

No worries. Hate is a strong word and should be used accordingly.

[Okonokos]

2 hours ago, hong0311 said:

Left back is the position that we should be looking to either add depth or improve. Wonder what left backs are realistically feasible given that he is:

- Under the age of 25

- Instant upgrade to Targett

- Wants to come to Villa of course

 

A wildcard I thought of would be Junior Firpo, who didn’t really impress in Barcelona but might revive in a brand new club. Wouldn’t call it an ‘instant upgrade’ though.

Targett has been one of our most consistent players this season. No way should we be thinking of replacing him in January.

[lexicon]

1 minute ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

No worries. Hate is a strong word and should be used accordingly.

Hyperbole perhaps but you do seem to have an irrational disliking of him. Plus, that wasn't the error I was talking about. 

[Okonokos]

36 minutes ago, BG_Villa_Fan said:

I'm not bothered about this transfer window at all. Unlike last season we don't really need anyone.

For the first time in forever I'm confident this team is run well and know exactly what they're doing , so they'll figure out how to improve the team, whether now or more likely in the summer. 

Same. I keep forgetting that the window is actually open now, that's how bothered I am. Just one thing nagging me though, what if Watkins gets injured? I think it might be wise for us to get in a forward this month to take some of the workload off him.

[wilko154]

Mad that we are talking about signing a right winger to replace Traore after 11 PL games.

Mad that people are already stating he isn't good enough.

Give the lad a chance he's scored twice in the last three games, two of which have been against top 6 sides.. He's doing just fine.

 

I'm not against signing a winger if he is world class, but for me the striker is the priority. And we can't be writing off players signed this summer already.

[Okonokos]

14 minutes ago, wilko154 said:

Mad that we are talking about signing a right winger to replace Traore after 11 PL games.

Mad that people are already stating he isn't good enough.

Give the lad a chance he's scored twice in the last three games, two of which have been against top 6 sides.. He's doing just fine.

 

I'm not against signing a winger if he is world class, but for me the striker is the priority. And we can't be writing off players signed this summer already.

Traore is a good player. He just needs to work on his tracking back a bit and stop the ball watching but that will come in time the more he gets used to this league. I like him and agree we should never write any player off after 11 games. I remember Petrov was rubbish for his first 18 months here, and he turned out alright.

[Sam-AVFC]

3 hours ago, zab6359 said:

Rubbish Norwich are a selling club, if the right offer came in they would sell. He can Farke off!

Lazy assumption. Every club would sell if the "right offer" came in, but it might be 4 times what they're worth. At this moment in time with Norwich top of the table chasing an extra £100m+ annual revenue there's no way we convince them to sell.