January Transfer Window - 2022

[HalfTimePost]

1 minute ago, Delphinho123 said:

All I ever hear is how data driven and great our scouting team is. Lange and his team keep tabs and have information on every player throughout Europe and basically do all this jiggery and pokery to find the best players from abroad.
Why do we always sign players we've heard of? Digne being a great example. Surely there is a LB abroad that we can snap up for half the price/wages?

I don't know, just seems like our scouting isnt as far reaching as we're told. Buendia/Bailey/Ings again, good examples. That's 95 million pounds right there. I'd love us to find a couple of gems for 5-10m (I know, i know its hard).

We haven't signed Digne, it's a Twitter link.

I hadn't heard of Wes, Trez, Nakamba. Hause and Mings were known players but pulled out of relative obscurity before they signed their initial loans with us in the championship.

Finding Gems at 5-10m isn't easy (tbf, as you say) but we've had incredible value from Hause, McGinn and Hourihane in those price ranges. 

On LB - Hickey and Sosa would be less in price and less wages. Linked to them too

[sne]

If Gomez is anywhere close to the level and ability he was before his latest couple injuries I'd happily take him here for the right price. If he was I can't see that Liverpool would sell him thou.

[Wainy316]

Just now, HalfTimePost said:

We haven't signed Digne, it's a Twitter link.

I hadn't heard of Wes, Trez, Nakamba. Hause and Mings were known players but pulled out of relative obscurity before they signed their initial loans with us in the championship.

Finding Gems at 5-10m isn't easy (tbf, as you say) but we've had incredible value from Hause, McGinn and Hourihane in those price ranges. 

On LB - Hickey and Sosa would be less in price and less wages. Linked to them too

I'd love us to be able to pluck a Mahrez, Kante or Mane from obscurity for peanuts.

[useless]

This is more like it, we're being credited with an interest in Marseille ace Bamba Dieng.

[CVByrne]

6 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

yes and to me that makes perfect sense

a loan is utterly pointless and a complete waste of money whilst sending out a poor message to the youngsters in the squad, at best he will come in play pretty well and put himself in the shop window while we maybe go up from 12th to 10th but i dont think he'll even do that because he hasnt played much football and i cant see him picking up the pace and fitness instantly so it'll take him a month to get going, its worse than a permanent signing 

barca might be desperate for cash but i just dont see any kind of deal to be done for him and then i have reservations as to what his frame of mind would be coming from that transfer to us - if i said lets sign eden hazard on loan for 6 months would people say yeah he was great at chelsea or say no he's washed up and finished? i feel that way about coutinho

Or you could look at it like a Loan brings a hugely talented player, who has incredible knowledge and who Gerrard knows well. Someone who the rest of the team can learn from and who can also make an impact on the pitch. I'm sure Gerrard knows significantly more about what Coutinho can bring to the team than you or I.

Look at Young, because of how professional and intelligent Young is he has been hugely important to Gerrard while the team are adapting to the new tactics etc. There is no reason to believe Countinho is some kind of bad egg, things just didn't work out for him at Barca. Henry was a failed winger at Juventus. Salah at Chelsea etc.. sometimes players don't fit clubs.

Gerrard doesn't know Edin Hazard, he knows Coutinho. If Gerrard wanted him in and we got him in on loan I'd be very happy. Carney learning from Coutinho.

[Zatman]

10 minutes ago, Phil Silvers said:

He's a magician if we get close to the PC we want, if he isn't up to it though it's a dangerous game to be playing. It's highly unlikely as you say, he's at the upper end of the scum12 money bracket, unmovable imo unless Barca literally give him away.

He has been poor for the best part of 4 years now and Barcelona have been trying to get rid of him for 3 years

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, useless said:

This is more like it, we're being credited with an interest in Marseille ace Bamba Dieng.

He just signed a new contract 

[HalfTimePost]

10 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

I'd love us to be able to pluck a Mahrez, Kante or Mane from obscurity for peanuts.

Wouldn't everyone! 

Mahrez and Kante are the new 'Michu' examples,

Leicester recruitment has been incredible, their main transfer guy is leaving or has been rumoured to be leaving and over on the Leicester forum they have been relatively happy with it as they haven't been happy with their transfer business the past couple of years - debating the value of players like Soumare, Daka, Perez and Vestergaard. 

This is the club most out of the Top 6 look to emulate and even they aren't overly happy with their transfer business. It's tough to consistently get right.

Southampton in years gone by with Mane, Højberg, Van Dijk (and lesser extent Lambert, Lallana, Clyne) are another club who have had great spells at bringing through youth talent or signing gems at good value (known or not). It's a tough gig to keep doing and be successful.

I think layering in some known talent for good money, some more obscure signings and bringing through talented youth is the right way forward. We haven't hit the heights Leicester did yet and our signings haven't been as good as those old Southampton ones yet. But our approach - whilst not yet as fruitful - I think will be the right one when we get it right.

Edited January 5, 2022 by HalfTimePost

[onmeedson]

Maybe the data led program  doe's not account for grit or character and the ability to battle on a Monday night at Burnley, we seem to have many players of the same ilk and spirit. Could the data be to narrow in its scope.

[TRO]

16 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

yes and to me that makes perfect sense

a loan is utterly pointless and a complete waste of money whilst sending out a poor message to the youngsters in the squad, at best he will come in play pretty well and put himself in the shop window while we maybe go up from 12th to 10th but i dont think he'll even do that because he hasnt played much football and i cant see him picking up the pace and fitness instantly so it'll take him a month to get going, its worse than a permanent signing 

barca might be desperate for cash but i just dont see any kind of deal to be done for him and then i have reservations as to what his frame of mind would be coming from that transfer to us - if i said lets sign eden hazard on loan for 6 months would people say yeah he was great at chelsea or say no he's washed up and finished? i feel that way about coutinho

We have some kids with huge potential.....but they have to force their way in, there is no gimme's in this life.

Arsenal are showing what talented kids really are with Martinelli-Saka and Smith-Rowe....chelsea have a few with Conor Gallagher leading the charge.

We are hanging our hat on ours being of first team quality and they might well be......but equally they might not, time will tell.

We need to sign players now, for the first team and the current first teamers have to fight for the shirt, they could now become the back ups.

 

 

[HalfTimePost]

6 minutes ago, onmeedson said:

Maybe the data led program  doe's not account for grit or character and the ability to battle on a Monday night at Burnley, we seem to have many players of the same ilk and spirit. Could the data be to narrow in its scope.

I think character has been a big part of what we've tried to do, I think there's three big things that have 'gone wrong'  

1 - we've had to sign a lot of players, so we still have a lot of players we could do with transitioning out of the squad that we signed en-masse coming out of the Championship.

2 - Midfield players are all very similar as you mentioned. I think that's just how Dean wanted to build the midfield out and it didn't work consistently enough. I think Gerrard will change this.

3 - we had to replace Jack who was everything to our offense. We had to spend money and we needed some big PR names. We did that and for one reason or another (not being fit/injuries, settling in a new league/team, or there just being no plan how they'd fit into the team) Bailey, Buendia and Ings haven't quite delivered yet. But they will in time.

Edited January 5, 2022 by HalfTimePost

[The Fun Factory]

27 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

All I ever hear is how data driven and great our scouting team is. Lange and his team keep tabs and have information on every player throughout Europe and basically do all this jiggery and pokery to find the best players from abroad.
Why do we always sign players we've heard of? Digne being a great example. Surely there is a LB abroad that we can snap up for half the price/wages?

I don't know, just seems like our scouting isnt as far reaching as we're told. Buendia/Bailey/Ings again, good examples. That's 95 million pounds right there. I'd love us to find a couple of gems for 5-10m (I know, i know its hard).

Any player who is worth £5-10m doubles in value as soon as the club hear a Premier League club is interested.

[Phil Silvers]

12 minutes ago, Zatman said:

He has been poor for the best part of 4 years now and Barcelona have been trying to get rid of him for 3 years

There you go, it's obviously a none starter, the media are always keen to help the scum clubs in the transfer market, whether buying or selling.

[paul514]

4 hours ago, WallisFrizz said:

Gregg Evans saying in the Athletic, Gomez would be a non starter this window as Liverpool not letting him leave but Nat Phillips a possibility. Also talks about Hickey and Owen Wijndal (not going to pretend I’ve heard of him).

However, the article, though quite interesting is more about who would be a good fit from people we’ve looked at before rather than inside knowledge about actual likely transfers.

He does mention loans being a strong consideration for various areas. I’m all for a decent loan signing, esp with an option to buy eg Nat Phillips.

 

Wijndal is a good attacking left back

[CVByrne]

16 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

All I ever hear is how data driven and great our scouting team is. Lange and his team keep tabs and have information on every player throughout Europe and basically do all this jiggery and pokery to find the best players from abroad.
Why do we always sign players we've heard of? Digne being a great example. Surely there is a LB abroad that we can snap up for half the price/wages?

I don't know, just seems like our scouting isnt as far reaching as we're told. Buendia/Bailey/Ings again, good examples. That's 95 million pounds right there. I'd love us to find a couple of gems for 5-10m (I know, i know its hard).

Lets take this left back idea. I'm going to explain Gerrards view as it's key. Say in Gerrards view the full backs are absolutely key to his attack, he needs full backs who are primarily attacking players. He also wants players who are very good at defensive actions, so that they get back into position and stand up to opposition players forcing a backwards pass. He also wants high ball retention, so players comfortable in possession and press resistant. So he doesn't see tackling, blocks, interceptions etc.. as important as the midfield three and CBs are for that. 

Now to Gerrard Targett does not fit this brief for what he wants from this position, he also see's this as the biggest issue with his current first team, as is the lack of any cover at Left back. Signing younger players means there is a learning curve but with that curve comes increased value, foreign players who have no experience in the Prem carry risks as they have no experienced the pace and pressing of the Premier League. So it goes without saying that a young foreign player has the biggest risk / learning curve. 

What you get from signing an experienced Premier League player is a lower level of risk but a bigger financial cost. Say Digne and Romeu. It's abundantly clear what their specific talents are as they have been playing in the Premier League for years so there is a body of reliable data. When combined with the background checks (which covers character, attitude etc..), then if say Digne fits the bill for Gerrard to a T. Gerrard deems this a critical signing then it makes sense for the club to sign that player. As to Gerrard we have no attacking left back at the club at present. 

 

So there is a clear reason we aren't looking to unearth gems from Europe for critical positions, that is due to the risk involved. We also have an academy we need to consider for the gems to come through. If we go sign a 21yo from Europe who's path is that player potentially blocking? 

[villa4europe]

26 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

Or you could look at it like a Loan brings a hugely talented player, who has incredible knowledge and who Gerrard knows well. Someone who the rest of the team can learn from and who can also make an impact on the pitch. I'm sure Gerrard knows significantly more about what Coutinho can bring to the team than you or I.

Look at Young, because of how professional and intelligent Young is he has been hugely important to Gerrard while the team are adapting to the new tactics etc. There is no reason to believe Countinho is some kind of bad egg, things just didn't work out for him at Barca. Henry was a failed winger at Juventus. Salah at Chelsea etc.. sometimes players don't fit clubs.

Gerrard doesn't know Edin Hazard, he knows Coutinho. If Gerrard wanted him in and we got him in on loan I'd be very happy. Carney learning from Coutinho.

i'll put it another way then, i dont believe that a 29 year old £140m footballer earning near £400k a week spends 5 years playing less than 80 league games for barca joins 13th in the table aston villa on a 6 month loan and arrives thinking "yeah this is my chance to show em"

that drop is soul destroyingly monstrous

he might not be a bad egg in a conventional sense but id be amazed if he picks his career up to pre-barca levels again and i definitely dont think he would do it at aston villa or be a huge success with or even a positive influence 

[OutByEaster?]

So this morning it's Digne, Coutinho and Phillips?

Okay.

[Zatman]

1 minute ago, OutByEaster? said:

So this morning it's Digne, Coutinho and Phillips?

Okay.

All with Scouse connections

[picicata]

55 minutes ago, sne said:

If Gomez is anywhere close to the level and ability he was before his latest couple injuries I'd happily take him here for the right price. If he was I can't see that Liverpool would sell him thou.

Exactly. If they're selling him it's because he can no longer play at the level they want. 

[CVByrne]

6 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

i'll put it another way then, i dont believe that a 29 year old £140m footballer earning near £400k a week spends 5 years playing less than 80 league games for barca joins 13th in the table aston villa on a 6 month loan and arrives thinking "yeah this is my chance to show em"

that drop is soul destroyingly monstrous

he might not be a bad egg in a conventional sense but id be amazed if he picks his career up to pre-barca levels again and i definitely dont think he would do it at aston villa or be a huge success with or even a positive influence 

I think Gerrard's opinion is a) significantly more informed b) significantly more important than yours or mine.

He's 29, if he chose to come here to play for a person he knows personally, in the League he has performed his best in. He'll see it as a way to show he still has a lot to offer. He probably has an eye on the World Cup like so man other players do (Gomez, Lingard etc.). Then come summer time with 1 year left on his contract he can find a permanent move somewhere.

He doesn't need to get to the levels he hit with Liverpool. He doesn't need to get anywhere near it either to be an asset to Villa for 6 months. We were paying a £5m loan fee for Tuanzebe after all and at least half of that is now available. Look at Lingards reputation before and after his 6 months at West Ham. Look at Coutinho's loan spell at Bayern Munich the season they won the CL.