January Transfer Window - 2022

[Xela]

Could Joe Aribo be a target? I remember we were linked with him when we got promoted and he's blossomed under Gerrard at Rangers. 

Also happens to be big pals with Konsa from their days at Charlton. Ezri said he reminds him of a left footed Yaya Toure. 

[Zatman]

NO RANGERS PLAYERS

[Jas10]

I wouldn’t want any player from the SPL unless they were truly outstanding and exceptional - they stood out. And also performed brilliantly in Europe. I don’t think that’s the case for any Rangers player is it? Or even any SPL player for that matter.

Otherwise, if someone has been inconsistent or had slumps in form or just been average or “done ok” in general, how the hell would they help or improve us in the league we are in?

I would hope we would set our sights much higher.

[abdulaziz1]

I would worry if we got Rangers players as it would mean the whole influence would be from Gerrard and as if our scouting team didn’t do any work. It will also make Gerrard look limited in finding players. 
But I can’t say I know or saw any of them.

[Stoobs]

30 minutes ago, abdulaziz1 said:

I would worry if we got Rangers players as it would mean the whole influence would be from Gerrard and as if our scouting team didn’t do any work. It will also make Gerrard look limited in finding players. 
But I can’t say I know or saw any of them.

I think a lot of English fans said the same about Virgil Van Dijk and Andy Robertson, when they moved from SPL. Because they played in Scotland doesn’t mean they won’t be able to cut it in England. Take Kamara for example. A standout for the Finnish national side, playing against top class international midfielders in the international arena and Europe when playing for Rangers. I think it’s slightly arrogant to think that he just wouldn’t be good enough for Villa. Really looking forward to the next 12 months at Villa Park. Of course, nobody knows how it is going to go but I think a few are going to be surprised. 

[alreadyexists]

6 hours ago, Xela said:

Could Joe Aribo be a target? I remember we were linked with him when we got promoted and he's blossomed under Gerrard at Rangers. 

Also happens to be big pals with Konsa from their days at Charlton. Ezri said he reminds him of a left footed Yaya Toure. 

Good think about Arbio, is that kids and grownups love him so.

 

 

 

[M_Afro]

If we really do only have £5m available to spend in Jan then the signing of Ings makes even less sense. Spending £25m on a striker who doesn’t suit your style when your midfield is broken, when you have no additional money to fix it, is ridiculous. Someone deserves the sack over that decision.

I mean no disrespect to Ings at all, who is decent at what he does and seems like a really good bloke but I would try and send him to the NE in January. I could see him being a really good fit for Newcastle and we could probably make a profit on him with their new found wealth. I don’t think that will make our January situation any brighter but it will have a positive impact upon our summer spending capability.

[TrentVilla]

2 hours ago, Stoobs said:

I think a lot of English fans said the same about Virgil Van Dijk and Andy Robertson, when they moved from SPL. Because they played in Scotland doesn’t mean they won’t be able to cut it in England. Take Kamara for example. A standout for the Finnish national side, playing against top class international midfielders in the international arena and Europe when playing for Rangers. I think it’s slightly arrogant to think that he just wouldn’t be good enough for Villa. Really looking forward to the next 12 months at Villa Park. Of course, nobody knows how it is going to go but I think a few are going to be surprised. 

It is arrogant, we should know better given we signed McGinn there are obviously good players in Scotland. However you also have to realistic about the standard of Scottish SPL sides compared to the PL.

We signed McGinn in the Championship, lots of PL clubs had looked at him but not gone for him. He was outstanding in the Championship but hasn’t been in the PL.

The other examples you mention both made moves to lesser clubs before Liverpool. Robertson to Hull and VVD to Southampton again lots of teams had looked at both.

The truth is in both examples top clubs waited for them to come South and be proven in English football. They would rather pay the premium for players they know can make the step up.

We aren’t a top club but we aspire to be, so it is arrogant to think there are no good players in Scotland but the truth is a lot of our fans would rather we buy players we know can make the step up, we have the money to do so. There are plenty of examples of players coming south that couldn’t, far more than those that could.

[Stoobs]

14 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

It is arrogant, we should know better given we signed McGinn there are obviously good players in Scotland. However you also have to realistic about the standard of Scottish SPL sides compared to the PL.

We signed McGinn in the Championship, lots of PL clubs had looked at him but not gone for him. He was outstanding in the Championship but hasn’t been in the PL.

The other examples you mention both made moves to lesser clubs before Liverpool. Robertson to Hull and VVD to Southampton again lots of teams had looked at both.

The truth is in both examples top clubs waited for them to come South and be proven in English football. They would rather pay the premium for players they know can make the step up.

We aren’t a top club but we aspire to be, so it is arrogant to think there are no good players in Scotland but the truth is a lot of our fans would rather we buy players we know can make the step up, we have the money to do so. There are plenty of examples of players coming south that couldn’t, far more than those that could.

I fully agree with you that the SPL, on the whole, is dreadful. I watch virtually every match that is possible to watch and to be honest, it would get football stopped. I judge players like Kamara on their international and European experience though. It wouldn’t be a gamble to see if he could cut it with Villa. There are players, not many I may add, that are just far too good for SPL. VVD was the most obvious one. He went to Southampton but everyone up here knew that he was going to top 4 club. Robbo was more of a surprise. Tierney has become a favourite at Arsenal (albeit has had a lot of injuries) I just see SG bringing someone with him from Rangers. Someone with a winning mentality and technically gifted that can handle, the step up as you say. Playing against Wolves, Burnley, Norwich, Newcastle, Palace, Southampton midfields etc will not phase a player like Kamara. Realistically, whatever CDM that Villa sign, will find it tough against the top 4 or 5 teams in the PL. All speculation on my part of course. SG might be glad to get shot of Kamara….lol. 

[TrentVilla]

7 minutes ago, Stoobs said:

I fully agree with you that the SPL, on the whole, is dreadful. I watch virtually every match that is possible to watch and to be honest, it would get football stopped. I judge players like Kamara on their international and European experience though. It wouldn’t be a gamble to see if he could cut it with Villa. There are players, not many I may add, that are just far too good for SPL. VVD was the most obvious one. He went to Southampton but everyone up here knew that he was going to top 4 club. Robbo was more of a surprise. Tierney has become a favourite at Arsenal (albeit has had a lot of injuries) I just see SG bringing someone with him from Rangers. Someone with a winning mentality and technically gifted that can handle, the step up as you say. Playing against Wolves, Burnley, Norwich, Newcastle, Palace, Southampton midfields etc will not phase a player like Kamara. Realistically, whatever CDM that Villa sign, will find it tough against the top 4 or 5 teams in the PL. All speculation on my part of course. SG might be glad to get shot of Kamara….lol. 

I think there is a risk in judging players on international or European football, especially in the Europa League. I think clubs have learnt their lesson on signing players on the back of tournaments for example, I agree international performances are an indication of a players ability to perform against better standard opposition though.

If Gerrard goes for any player from the SPL I’d be prepared to trust his judgment, he knows the players better and he knows the level of the PL. My comments were more related to the reasons why a lot will turn their nose up.

I disagree on the last part of the above though, we aspire to competing with the best clubs so we need to sign players to do so, we don’t need to sign players who can’t.

[VillaFaninLondon]

9 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Exactly, we’re not going to progress if we sign average or mediocre players. We need to upgrade, not fill out the squad or buy cover.

Sometimes I think we’re a bit too attached or sentimental when it comes to our existing players too.

You’re not going to get much better as a team/club if you keep hanging onto relatively poor players and continue to give them game time. We have to keep moving forwards and enhancing where we can.

By now, we should be looking at a higher calibre of player. The bracket that Bailey is in is more like it… if we really have ambition (such an overused and tired word) then we have to keep improving and set our targets higher. Otherwise we’re going to go backwards or, at best, stand still (unlikely because no team does or wants to, competition is fierce).

We don’t need to buy from the bargain bin (unless we somehow spot a truly exceptional player) to just “do a job” for us. We need better, much better.

I don’t know about Kamara… it’s so hard to judge whether SPL players will be able to make the step up and handle the quality and intensity of the PL.

But I think someone like Kent would be a pointless target.

I don’t want us to go after Rangers players either. We need to look at the top European leagues and keep an eye out for potential stars further afield. E.g. Alvarez at River Plate.

Let the scouting team do their work and work with them to identify the best targets… rather than go for more “obvious” or easy targets.

Absolutely, it's almost certainly lazy, pointless journalism. 

 

The only one I think might be a target is Kamara because we need a player in that position but I really have no idea how he'd do or how good he is.

 

People mention VVD, Robertson and Tierney, which is fair - but they're the exception to the rule. Robertson has really surprised but Tierney and VVD were always going to move on.

 

Going back even further Henrik Larsson was an absolute superstar at Celtic and moved to Barca, but wasn't as good in a better league and was often on the bench. We signed Petrov from Celtic which was an exciting signing, but he was a no10 in Scotland and we had to play him further back because he didn't perform as a CAM for us.

 

I can't think of anyone playing in the SPL currently who looks too good for the league which is why I wouldn't bother.

 

Kent is an absolutely ridiculous link - in the forward positions we've spent big on Bailey, Buendia, Traore, Watkins and Ings. Kent is a Championship player. It's not going to happen.

[a-k]

16 hours ago, Phil Silvers said:

I'm fully convinced agent Smith will be selling all Norwich's best players to us and also buying our worst players.

 

Ah, the old Football Manager trick

[Stoobs]

14 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

Absolutely, it's almost certainly lazy, pointless journalism. 

 

The only one I think might be a target is Kamara because we need a player in that position but I really have no idea how he'd do or how good he is.

 

People mention VVD, Robertson and Tierney, which is fair - but they're the exception to the rule. Robertson has really surprised but Tierney and VVD were always going to move on.

 

Going back even further Henrik Larsson was an absolute superstar at Celtic and moved to Barca, but wasn't as good in a better league and was often on the bench. We signed Petrov from Celtic which was an exciting signing, but he was a no10 in Scotland and we had to play him further back because he didn't perform as a CAM for us.

 

I can't think of anyone playing in the SPL currently who looks too good for the league which is why I wouldn't bother.

 

Kent is an absolutely ridiculous link - in the forward positions we've spent big on Bailey, Buendia, Traore, Watkins and Ings. Kent is a Championship player. It's not going to happen.

Larsson was 33 when he went to Barca, who at the time, were awash with forward talent. To play 40 games or so, in that team, as a 33 year old, was pretty impressive. Amazing to think that he moved to Sweden, played quite a lot of games there before Alex Ferguson signed him. Must have been about 36 or so by that time. Incredible for a forward player. 

[VillaFaninLondon]

1 minute ago, Stoobs said:

Larsson was 33 when he went to Barca, who at the time, were awash with forward talent. To play 40 games or so, in that team, as a 33 year old, was pretty impressive. Amazing to think that he moved to Sweden, played quite a lot of games there before Alex Ferguson signed him. Must have been about 36 or so by that time. Incredible for a forward player. 

Yeah he was an incredible player, I always thought he was too good to be playing in the SPL (no offense) during his peak years but he obviously grew attached to Celtic.

[Jas10]

4 hours ago, Stoobs said:

I think a lot of English fans said the same about Virgil Van Dijk and Andy Robertson, when they moved from SPL. Because they played in Scotland doesn’t mean they won’t be able to cut it in England. Take Kamara for example. A standout for the Finnish national side, playing against top class international midfielders in the international arena and Europe when playing for Rangers. I think it’s slightly arrogant to think that he just wouldn’t be good enough for Villa. Really looking forward to the next 12 months at Villa Park. Of course, nobody knows how it is going to go but I think a few are going to be surprised. 

The players you’ve mentioned are outstanding talents and a “break from the norm” if you will. It’s really difficult to judge SPL players and how/if they will be able to transfer their talents to the PL and be able to perform. It’s a complete other level. 

I don’t think it’s arrogance at all and I don’t think anyone has written off Kamara (we don’t even know if he’s a target) but there is an air of uncertainty or unpredictability there… it’s up to the scouts to judge the quality of the player if he is indeed a target.

Also, Van Dijk and Robertson were young, up and coming players with a lot of potential at the time - a more attractive proposition for sure.

Your points on Kamara are fair (performances in Europe and internationals) but there’s so much to consider. He won’t get the time and space in the PL and will be regularly up against high quality opposition, we won’t be dominating games as Rangers have either due to the elevated quality and competitive nature of the league… that just can’t be underestimated.

From a Villa fan’s perspective, I am personally done with players of a low quality or who are substandard. Therefore, I’m understandably wary of signing players from weaker leagues and who would just be bought to “fill a gap” or fill out the squad. Not referring to Kamara in particular but the SPL market as a whole.

For example, we’ve signed players from Turkey and Belgium in the past who’ve not really been up to standard and are not going to take us where we want to go. We don’t need to be shopping in those kind of markets any longer, those were the days when we just needed to assemble a squad in a short period of time.

To progress or reach the next level, we need to sign a higher calibre of player. We are not going to kick on otherwise.

Maybe the type we are deemed to be unlikely to sign. Bailey is a great example imo, we just haven’t been able to get him fit or see the best of him yet. But he will be a star. That’s the bracket or calibre of player I would be focussed on.

We need to enhance the quality in our team if we want to take a step forward, looking for bargain buys is not really the approach we need to focus on at this time (imo) but sure, if we identify a genuinely outstanding talent, then go for it.

[Steero113]

3 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

The players you’ve mentioned are outstanding talents and a “break from the norm” if you will. It’s really difficult to judge SPL players and how/if they will be able to transfer their talents to the PL and be able to perform. It’s a complete other level. 

I don’t think it’s arrogance at all and I don’t think anyone has written off Kamara (we don’t even know if he’s a target) but there is an air of uncertainty or unpredictability there… it’s up to the scouts to judge the quality of the player if he is indeed a target.

Also, Van Dijk and Robertson were young, up and coming players with a lot of potential at the time - a more attractive proposition for sure.

Your points on Kamara are fair (performances in Europe and internationals) but there’s so much to consider. He won’t get the time and space in the PL and will be regularly up against high quality opposition, we won’t be dominating games as Rangers have either due to the elevated quality and competitive nature of the league… that just can’t be underestimated.

From a Villa fan’s perspective, I am personally done with players of a low quality or who are substandard. Therefore, I’m understandably wary of signing players from weaker leagues and who would just be bought to “fill a gap” or fill out the squad. Not referring to Kamara in particular but the SPL market as a whole.

For example, we’ve signed players from Turkey and Belgium in the past who’ve not really been up to standard and are not going to take us where we want to go. We don’t need to be shopping in those kind of markets any longer, those were the days when we just needed to assemble a squad in a short period of time.

To progress or reach the next level, we need to sign a higher calibre of player. We are not going to kick on otherwise.

Maybe the type we are deemed to be unlikely to sign. Bailey is a great example imo, we just haven’t been able to get him fit or see the best of him yet. But he will be a star. That’s the bracket or calibre of player I would be focussed on.

We need to enhance the quality in our team if we want to take a step forward, looking for bargain buys is not really the approach we need to focus on at this time (imo) but sure, if we identify a genuinely outstanding talent, then go for it.

Tip of the cap for going through all that DM chat without mentioning Doucoure 

[Jas10]

1 minute ago, Steero113 said:

Tip of the cap for going through all that DM chat without mentioning Doucoure 

Eh? I’m lost mate

[Steero113]

5 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

Eh? I’m lost mate

We were both hammering the attributes of Cheick Doucoure over the summer. 

I purely appreciated the restraint shown to not tout him again  (was a shit reference). 

[Villa_Vids]

I can see us targeting eastern european players for some reason, I have no idea why though!? 

[Jas10]

15 minutes ago, Steero113 said:

We were both hammering the attributes of Cheick Doucoure over the summer. 

I purely appreciated the restraint shown to not tout him again  (was a shit reference). 

Was I? I had a whole list of DMs!

We still need one!! Or two? 

Sangare (what a signing he would be), the French Kamara? Ok I’ll stop