allani Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 5 minutes ago, StewieGriffin said: Even the Saudi's cant afford Digne's wages, surely? I've heard that OPEC have already agreed to treble the global oil price so that Saudi can afford to loan Digne for a season. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlack Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 Doubt he'd move there. Seems like a family man that values his mental state. Can't see him accepting a move to Saudi just for the money. That's not based on anything major, just a feeling I get 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalfTimePost Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 (edited) Can't see Coutinho moving to Saudi Arabia, he seems like a really genuine guy who tried hard to settle in with his family and the other Latam players we have. I think he'll be really disappointed it hasn't worked out and I can't imagine him moving said family to Saudi Arabia to chase more money, I genuinely believe he thought he could revive his career here Edited June 6, 2023 by HalfTimePost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 Got a feeling he'll end up in France before window is closed. Big problem here is he's had three separate injuries since UE came in. Was injured straight away for first games and would've missed more but for World cup break. Then just when he was stringing some good games together he got injured straight after the Arsenal game and didn't see him until mid May and on the bench for Wolves. Didn't feature in final three games so assume he had a reaction or perhaps UE just decided he couldn't rely on him and wanted to concentrate on players who'll be at the club next season. Regardless of quality now fitness is issue considering how often it will be Sunday-Thursday-Sunday next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 He is the player in our squad I always forget about which is really worrying since 6 months ago was our most high profile player 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlitobrigante Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 hope we find a way to move him on. Just cant see him turning things around to the point where he is worth the wages. If we can find a new home for him, will help us out in having more room for this summer window. The amount and type of players we are looking to recruit are going to demand high wages and having to be too constrained with wage negotiations could mean us missing out on key targets, I don't regret signing him, and he was definitely worth the punt at the time, but now its time to move him on if its possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 7 hours ago, HalfTimePost said: Can't see Coutinho moving to Saudi Arabia, he seems like a really genuine guy who tried hard to settle in with his family and the other Latam players we have. I think he'll be really disappointed it hasn't worked out and I can't imagine him moving said family to Saudi Arabia to chase more money, I genuinely believe he thought he could revive his career here If I was him, I would. It's perhaps the last biggest move in his career he will get too. His legs are finished and he is unable to consistently compete at this level anymore. Disastrous signing for us and the quicker he is gone the better it will be for club and player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlack Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 2 hours ago, AvfcRigo82 said: If I was him, I would. It's perhaps the last biggest move in his career he will get too. His legs are finished and he is unable to consistently compete at this level anymore. Disastrous signing for us and the quicker he is gone the better it will be for club and player. If he's still got a 2/3 years left on his contract with us, he's not going to need the money (on top of what he's already earned previously). He might want to be part of the Emery revival and think he's absolutely the best coach to get him back to his best. Whether his body physically let's him do that is a huge question, but if he wanted to try and fight for a place, and noone wants to pay to take him off our hands, I'd be inclined to keep him around for another season. Particularly one where we'll be expecting to play 12+ more games, and have limited FFP wiggle room. Selling him below his book value might leave us worse off this year. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 We can't actually sell him only loan him. Barcelona hold a 50% sell on clause and he has £12.75m remaining book value. So to break even financially we need to sell him for £25.5m. A loan to Saudi doesn't do anything as it essentially stops him playing any competitive football. He still has plenty to offer at this level and hopefully he can get fit so Emery can look to utilise him and get him playing well like he's managed to do with every other player. Remember the last games he played for us he was good. He deserved his start and goal against Arsenal. If he stays fit and isn't getting game time for us next season he becomes a loan option in January when teams might see him as a good option. A loan to France or Spain maybe But this summer there's no real option to sell him. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke313 Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 A Saudi move isn't happening. They haven't actually bought anyone, all the high-profile players they have signed/are signing are all free transfers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJCB Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Sell him to Leeds if gerrard goes there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Steero113 Posted June 7, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted June 7, 2023 Keep him, stop with this flog him at all costs crap. Let him influence the squad, we still haven't seen him have a proper run under Unai. He could yet be an asset under Emery as an impact sub and will be a useful player for us I'm convinced of it. 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhan_Zhuang Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Looked decent in the couple of appearances before his injury; lively against Arsenal and got a goal too. His legs didn't look gone then, did they? A few too many injuries this season which hopefully will be managed next season better. His experience and quality could be invaluable next season especially with more games in Europe and coupled with the fact Ashley Young has left. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa Gaffa Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Lets give him time to get over his injuries and see what this season brings for him. He might still be able to offer an impact off the bench especially with extra games coming this season. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 10 hours ago, VillaChris said: Got a feeling he'll end up in France before window is closed. Big problem here is he's had three separate injuries since UE came in. Was injured straight away for first games and would've missed more but for World cup break. Then just when he was stringing some good games together he got injured straight after the Arsenal game and didn't see him until mid May and on the bench for Wolves. Didn't feature in final three games so assume he had a reaction or perhaps UE just decided he couldn't rely on him and wanted to concentrate on players who'll be at the club next season. Regardless of quality now fitness is issue considering how often it will be Sunday-Thursday-Sunday next season. He picked up a knock during training. I don't get the rush to let him go and to Saudi (what has he done to deserve that?). For me, his signing was the brightest moment of SG's time at Villa. He still has the ability to find space and to thread a pass and I haven't given up on him yet. At the very least he will be an option off the bench and we will have games during the season, when he will be an asset to have available to start. I back him to prove his value next season, in much the same way as in my opinion Digne did at the end of last season, when he came into the team following Moreno's injury. We need to be building on our squad strength, not weakening it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinebro Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Saudi Arabia would be a great move for him. He doesn't have the legs for top level football anymore but still got the tecnique to be brilliant at a lower level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Like others have said, I can’t see a move to Saudi because he has all the money he’ll ever need already and he seems like a family man and an all round genuine bloke. That said, it’s not unthinkable that he is tempted by an offer of say, $20-50m a year in Saudi. It’s not like he has to move there or really commit to anything. He can spend time there when the season is on, with his family back here. I’m not being funny, but I’d move to Saudi for a couple of years and spend time away from the kids if I knew I’d be set for life, my kids were set for life and their kids kids were set for life. Money talks so it’s not completely out of the question. That said, I still think he can have an impact here. He’s a better footballer than Bailey and Buendia combined, he just hasn’t got the legs. Emery likes to use subs though so there is no reason he can’t impact games for 30-60 minutes each week. Obviously, with his wages being high, the club might think that money is better spent elsewhere (and they might not be wrong), I just think he has something to offer yet. I think he’s a wonderful footballer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 13 hours ago, allani said: I've heard that OPEC have already agreed to treble the global oil price so that Saudi can afford to loan Digne for a season. Even if we could find a nation state willing to fund a loan for Lucas "Smaug" Digne, how would this impact our ability to loan in Adnan Januzaj? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 2 hours ago, Steero113 said: Keep him, stop with this flog him at all costs crap. Let him influence the squad, we still haven't seen him have a proper run under Unai. He could yet be an asset under Emery as an impact sub and will be a useful player for us I'm convinced of it. He can't get a proper run because he keeps getting injured. I think that's the issue as how often will he break down next season with us playing three times a week? Given he's over 30 now and has played at top level since 2010 I think it's an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villaphan04 Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 he would be an asset for the squad, clear has the quality & we have a coach to get the best out of players. + we won't be able to shift him to where it is net ffp positive -- the Saudi's have been targeting free agents, Philippe is not one. Plus, it looks clearly like he's settled & is a part of the South American contingent we have at the club 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts