Summer transfer window 2021

[fightoffyour]

Chukwuemeka might (almost) already be the number 10 we need

[Adam2003]

6 minutes ago, fightoffyour said:

Chukwuemeka might (almost) already be the number 10 we need

Or the club might think “he isn’t just yet but a year from now he could be if he plays half the games this season and we think he will develop more doing that here than on loan so let’s gamble on him.” We just don’t know their plans or how players are doing - it’s exciting to think one or two might break through. I wouldn’t mind the gamble at a time when our forward line (with Emi added in) are all quality international players.

[Made In Aston]

1 hour ago, Kiwivillan said:

Generic Villa fan complaint: 

"Why don't we bring through youth players into the main team like other clubs"

Also generic fan complaint:

"We need to spend millions on fancy named foreign player. We can't rely on our youth players to progress"

I love how people take two dichotomous viewpoints from a group and imply that the whole group has said both. I could post millions of these just from VT alone

[sparrow1988]

Just now, Made In Aston said:

I love how people take two dichotomous viewpoints from a group and imply that the whole group has said both. I could post millions of these just from VT alone

 

[VillaFaninLondon]

9 hours ago, dappadan said:

I think we have scouted very well recently. Watkins, Traore, Cash, Targett, Konsa, Mings, Martinez, Mcginn, Luiz all better players with arguably a higher value for most if not all of them than what we paid. We have built a whole new team in recent times and done it extremely well in my view. 

We have now added Buendia and Ash Young to that so far and I don't doubt a couple more will come through the door. But overall I would be happy if we just continue our own path and scouting the way we have been. The way we seem to be scouting at youth level for example could well pay dividends with a little patience.

Of course we would all like players in early and it gets frustrating at times but to single out our scouting policy and change it I think would be detrimental to our journey. As ultimately thats what it is. 

Looking through Leicesters transfers recently they have definitely had a fair few that have bombed aswell. Which is the case in every club in England. Although Leicester probably one of the better ones. 

Most of those were scouted locally though - agree they've all been good value, but Smith knew Ollie from Brentford already, same with Konsa, Targett and Martinez already played in the PL, McGinn was a Steve Bruce signing (can't believe I'm saying that). The only one that was scouted further afield was Traore (and even then he'd played in England briefly for Chelsea) and he's been 50/50 so far and very inconsistent. 

 

All the players I mentioned from Leicester were signed from other leagues and have all been hugely successful. We haven't bought in Lange and MacKenzie (who was at Leicester when they unveiled some of these gems) to just scout players down the road. The players that we have scouted from further afield like Traore, Sanson, Trezeguet, Guilbert, Nakamba, Wesley have all failed to nail down a first team place long term - though the likes of Sanson could come good this season. And if we're paying Lange and MacKenzie millions per year just to scout players in this country (who will be overpriced especially if they're English) it seems a bit strange. 

 

For me it's about balance. Championship has been good for us and we should continue to use it for the top players in the division, as well as looking at PL players if the value is there - but I'd also like to see us widen our network search for players so we're not missing out on quality players in other leagues. That's why the potential Alvarez signing was interesting but there haven't been many more links like that. 

Edited July 21, 2021 by VillaFaninLondon

[the_eristic]

6 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Only 3 goals and 2 assists last season? Poor for an attacking player… at 25 not a young prospect either…

I’d much prefer Kamada or De Arrascaeta…

Kamada is about 3 months younger, GDA two years older, so neither young prospects. Different kind of player, though. While Kamada and GDA are more likely to directly score/assist, in Brandt's recent "poor" seasons, he's developed virtually elite passing nearly across the board and become a more balanced player. Given that Jack and Emi (and SJM and Bertie, for that matter) are inclined to play a higher risk game and that ball retention + completing forward passes have been big problems for us, having a player that can consistently show for the ball in the middle, then rarely misplace it while still playing a wide range of progressive passes might not be the worst thing in the world.

[HKP90]

26 minutes ago, Made In Aston said:

I love how people take two dichotomous viewpoints from a group and imply that the whole group has said both. I could post millions of these just from VT alone

Fair point, although I think you are ruling out the possibility that there are on this website; a)posters who either don’t know  how they stand on a subject, or flit from viewpoint to viewpoint like a startled deer with the runs, or b) people on here who do the above on purpose for the lols (not naming names).

[Kiwivillan]

4 minutes ago, the_eristic said:

Kamada is about 3 months younger, GDA two years older, so neither young prospects. Different kind of player, though. While Kamada and GDA are more likely to directly score/assist, in Brandt's recent "poor" seasons, he's developed virtually elite passing nearly across the board and become a more balanced player. Given that Jack and Emi (and SJM and Bertie, for that matter) are inclined to play a higher risk game and that ball retention + completing forward passes have been big problems for us, having a player that can consistently show for the ball in the middle, then rarely misplace it while still playing a wide range of progressive passes might not be the worst thing in the world.

I didn't think much of his goal involvements the last 2 seasons looking earlier but just checking Fbref his passing stats are massive and pressures and tackling also very good. That seems strange for attacking mid. Looks more like CM stats

[Beastmix]

17 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

The only one that was scouted further afield was Traore (and even then he'd played in England briefly for Chelsea) and he's been 50/50 so far and very inconsistent.

And not to forget he played in the same squad as our John Terry, so there's a personal connection there too.

[dappadan]

17 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

Most of those were scouted locally though - agree they've all been good value, but Smith knew Ollie from Brentford already, same with Konsa, Targett and Martinez already played in the PL, McGinn was a Steve Bruce signing (can't believe I'm saying that). The only one that was scouted further afield was Traore (and even then he'd played in England briefly for Chelsea) and he's been 50/50 so far and very inconsistent. 

 

All the players I mentioned from Leicester were signed from other leagues and have all been hugely successful. We haven't bought in Lange and MacKenzie (who was at Leicester when they unveiled some of these gems) to just scout players down the road. The players that we have scouted from further afield like Traore, Sanson, Trezeguet, Guilbert, Nakamba, Wesley have all failed to nail down a first team place long term - though the likes of Sanson could come good this season. And if we're paying Lange and MacKenzie millions per year just to scout players in this country (who will be overpriced especially if they're English) it seems a bit strange. 

 

For me it's about balance. Championship has been good for us and we should continue to use it for the top players in the division, as well as looking at PL players if the value is there - but I'd also like to see us widen our network search for players so we're not missing out on quality players in other leagues. That's why the potential Alvarez signing was interesting but there haven't been many more links like that. 

Yeah cant argue with much of that, I guess its about finding the likes of Buendia and Martinez elsewhere before we pay 50 million for them. Hopefully once we solidify our prem place which we seem to have done we can look to take a few more risks like Alvarez. I am the same though I absolutely love an exciting signing like that. 

[the_eristic]

2 minutes ago, Kiwivillan said:

I didn't think much of his goal involvements the last 2 seasons looking earlier but just checking Fbref his passing stats are massive and pressures and tackling also very good. That seems strange for attacking mid. Looks more like CM stats

In his last season at Bayer he was moved from outright attacking positions to a more central role, then with Sancho, Reyna, etc at Dortmund, he's been kind of an attacking "pivot" at times, where he gets the ball from a deeper pass then distributes to the attackers. I suspect he'll have a positional trajectory like Kroos where he moves deeper over time.

[sidcow]

14 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Why not just sign Gazzaniga?

Does Jimondo Cinque Bellizias have to come with him? 

[Kiwivillan]

7 minutes ago, the_eristic said:

In his last season at Bayer he was moved from outright attacking positions to a more central role, then with Sancho, Reyna, etc at Dortmund, he's been kind of an attacking "pivot" at times, where he gets the ball from a deeper pass then distributes to the attackers. I suspect he'll have a positional trajectory like Kroos where he moves deeper over time.

Sounds like someone that would fit Smith's setup

[CarryOnVilla]

The reason why the transfers are slow is our own perception.  We want fresh news everyday, something to wonder about, something dream about and something to talk about. And like last summer, we hyperbolically moaned that our owner lacked ambition because of the slow window and lack of signings. 
 

We’re just not signing 14 players a season like we did in our promotion season. We are probably after 4/5 players and 2 are are already in. 
 

What really is slow and lacking is the gossip about who we are going to sign  

That’s what we want, so we don’t feel bored 

Edited July 21, 2021 by CarryOnVilla

[VillaFaninLondon]

28 minutes ago, dappadan said:

Yeah cant argue with much of that, I guess its about finding the likes of Buendia and Martinez elsewhere before we pay 50 million for them. Hopefully once we solidify our prem place which we seem to have done we can look to take a few more risks like Alvarez. I am the same though I absolutely love an exciting signing like that. 

I think if we not only solidify our Prem place but continue to push on and compete for European places we'll be able to attract the bigger names to Villa where there is more certainty of success - especially if we continue to invest in the club like we have with the youth. Next step for me would be improving the ground because as much as I love VP it needs some work and increased capacity to over 50K would be a real boost to the club's standing. 

 

I think we're in a good position already to take on a risk on someone like Alvarez, given his price tag is fairly low (buyout of £21m I hear but could probably strike a deal for around £15-17m I'd imagine) and we'd probably introduce him gradually into the first team given we've got decent attacking players already. Another young Argentinian that's highly rated is Thiago Almada and he tends to play as a no10 I think.

[Adam2003]

45 minutes ago, dappadan said:

Yeah cant argue with much of that, I guess its about finding the likes of Buendia and Martinez elsewhere before we pay 50 million for them. Hopefully once we solidify our prem place which we seem to have done we can look to take a few more risks like Alvarez. I am the same though I absolutely love an exciting signing like that. 

We did this with the likes of Gueye, Gollini etc who have gone on to win league titles and multiple international caps. The issue is we don’t give them time. And the challenge is we have usually needed immediate results (to avoid relegation or get promotion) so haven’t been able to give them time. It’s why Brentford’s recruitment model may now fall down.

You’re right that when safely ensconced in the middle of the table and with a fairly solid squad that’s when you can gamble a little and I do think we are approaching that now.

 

 

[VillanousOne]

38 minutes ago, CarryOnVilla said:

The reason why the transfers are slow is our own perception.  We want fresh news everyday, something to wonder about, something dream about and something to talk about. And like last summer, we hyperbolically moaned that our owner lacked ambition because of the slow window and lack of signings. 
 

We’re just not signing 14 players a season like we did in our promotion season. We are probably after 4/5 players and 2 are are already in. 
 

What really is slow and lacking is the gossip about who we are going to sign  

That’s what we want, so we don’t feel bored 

Genuinely hoping the press don't know who we are after and a few gems come in out of nowhere.

only link that seems odd it has gone cold is Alvarez, was really excited by that one. Reports his agent was in the country and we had agreed a 10 mil fee seem to have been wide of the mark, obviously it could still happen.

The amount of youth players we have been signing has been superb though.

[est1874]

I'm worried how open we're leaving ourselves in a few key positions currently.

GK - we've let go 2 goalkeepers and brought in none. This is concerning. Imagine an injury to Emi - not worth thinking about. An injury to Jed, who is injury-prone, would also be problematic as we would have no established Cup Keeper to come in.

CB - this is a huge concern for me. We were already thin on the ground last season and we've sent Engels packing without a replacement. Notwithstanding the fact that Smith had no intention of playing him, it still means we're very short in this area. We arguably got very lucky with Mings and Konsa staying fit for 90% of games last season despite one or two small injuries. I don't think we should just assume this is the norm - other clubs had horrific injuries in that position which really affected their fortunes throughout the season. There is always the chance of something happening in pre-season which then leaves us desperate. IMO it's not good enough to aim for bargain options who can do a job as cover - we need to go with the mindset that a first-team CB option is required, and recruit accordingly. Hause is fine but not good enough. In a nightmare scenario where both Mings and Konsa are out, we are completely screwed.

LB - Targett was fantastic last season and deserves to be first-choice going into this season. However, we did all have concerns about him prior to his up-turn in form. There are no guarantees he will continue his great form, and as glad as I am to have Ashley back at our club, I would have major doubts about his ability to play LB at Premier League level. Apart from any concerns about his pace and stamina etc, the Premier League full-back position has arguably again evolved since he was doing a job there for United. It's the most high-energy role on the field now, and effectively you need to be very good at both ends of the field, not just one or the other.

I know all of the above takes a slightly pessimistic slant, but I believe that you have to when you've got a squad of our size trying to break into Europe. We simply have to cover all the bases. At the moment we seem to be focused on the #10 role and potentially striker cover or #6/CDM but realistically all of the above are just as important.

Unpopular opinion, I know, but Lange needs to get a move on.

[CarryOnVilla]

31 minutes ago, VillanousOne said:

Genuinely hoping the press don't know who we are after and a few gems come in out of nowhere.

only link that seems odd it has gone cold is Alvarez, was really excited by that one. Reports his agent was in the country and we had agreed a 10 mil fee seem to have been wide of the mark, obviously it could still happen.

The amount of youth players we have been signing has been superb though.

I genuinely think the press don’t know anything from Villa… think of all the signings we made since coming up, all the rumours of them come from the other clubs side, not ours. 
 

it’s the same with Alvarez… any information about any possible deal is coming from South America…

yeah this idea of signing all the good kids is most definitely a ‘top 6 team’ flex.  
 

things are going well 

Edited July 21, 2021 by CarryOnVilla

[alreadyexists]