January Transfer Window - 2023

[icouldtelltheworld]

43 minutes ago, allani said:

++ Konsa - probably at least quadrupled our money

Think you make some excellent points in your post and I largely agree with your analysis. However, think you've been massively optimistic here - thinking Konsa's transfer fee was rumoured to be about £12m, I doubt we'd get more than £15m - £20m were he to move on. Still been a decent signing though!

[allani]

1 minute ago, icouldtelltheworld said:

Think you make some excellent points in your post and I largely agree with your analysis. However, think you've been massively optimistic here - thinking Konsa's transfer fee was rumoured to be about £12m, I doubt we'd get more than £15m - £20m were he to move on. Still been a decent signing though!

Fair play - I had £5m in my head (but with possible add-ons).  So on the basis that my number is wrong then yeah I'd agree it's closer to doubling than quadrupling.

[TheMightyVillans]

- Moreno

- Guendouzi

- Lee kang-In

- Danjuma

I think that would be an exciting Jan window.

Need new CB + Backup Keeper but I think thats too much of a stretch for Jan.

New CB, RB, ST, Backup Keeper in the Summer

[Tayls]

6 hours ago, allani said:

Interesting to see how many posters are saying that we're awful in the transfer market compared to other clubs in the PL.  I wonder how much of this is down to fans tending to concentrate on the worst signings their clubs make and the best that other clubs make.  Do we sign more duds than other PL clubs?  I don't think so.  Obviously with FFP and the previous policy of signing old players with relegation experience when we got promoted we had to gamble on signing a lot of "cheap" players to be able to field a team that might be competitive.  But just going through our squad there really don't seem to be a whole heap of bad signings:

+++ Martinez - one of the best signings of any PL club in the last 5 seasons - definitely the best GK signing of any team in the league

- Olsen - really don't rate him and I think even as a loan deal this was pretty poor.  Could and should have done better.

+ Cash - I think he's been a really good signing.  Massive improvement on what we had before and would at least double our money if we were to sell him today.

++ Mings - again a massive success for me as a signing, really helped us to get to where we are and again am sure we would make money if we had to sell him

++ Konsa - probably at least quadrupled our money

- Chambers - bit of a meh signing but we definitely needed cover and in that regard he was an improvement on what we had before.

++ Young - POTS so far, will hopefully stay at Villa in the coaching staff when he eventually hangs up his boots.

- Digne - personally I rate him as an improvement on Targett.  So I think he has improved the team.  Won't make money on him but he was bought to provide experience.

+ Carlos - hard to tell with his injury - but on paper he looked like an excellent signing and a real defensive leader

-- Guilbert - not worked out for him here but he signed at a time when we needed to take a punt on players.

Augustinsson - looks like he was a decent back-up option, deal now blighted by injury.  Not a success but not a disaster either.  Did what it said on the tin pretty much.

- Bednarek - wasn't convinced at the time and hasn't played much to change the view.  But an upgrade on Hause.  Disappointing but not a disaster.

++ Luiz - basically kept us up with his form post-Covid lockdown.  Has since proved to be a very decent PL midfielder.  I think under UE he could become even better as we'll play a system that better suits his style and he'll get more time to do his stuff as he is surrounded by better players.  Again we must have doubled our money at least should someone want to sign him.

+++ McGinn - absolutely brilliant signing, personally think he's now a squad player but he's a huge part of our rebirth

- Sanson - I think the deal made sense at the time but injuries probably stopped him making an impact when he most likely could / would have done.  Almost a -- signing but I've given the benefit of the doubt as the injury had a huge impact

- Buendia - not entirely sure yet.  I think there is a player there but we've not got it out of him often enough.  Would almost certainly lose money if we sold him now.  But could still come good.

+ Nakamba - not my favourite player but I think he's great as a squad member and will try as hard as he can

Ramsey, Bogarde, K Young (not applicable)

+++ Kamara - looks like being a brilliant signing.  Hopefully he'll be the backbone of our midfield for years but if we had to sell I think we will make an absolute bucket load of money on him.

-- Coutinho - great loan signing but big question marks around whether we should have made it permanent.  I'd like to see him play more under UE as I think he'll get more time and space when we are playing well.  Never going to be a commercially profitable signing.

+ Dendoncker - in terms of strengthening our bench / injury cover I think he's pretty decent.  A big upgrade on Nakamba so hard to see this as being anything other than a small win.

++ Watkins - probably overpaid when we signed him and whilst I think signing a new CF is one of our main priorities, I can't see how you can say that he has been anything but a very good signing.  Not sure that we'll make much if we had to sell him but that ignores the value added in terms of our survival in the PL.

+ Ings - financially again is unlikely to ever be a "success" and even though the Watkins / Ings partnership never really ignited, we needed a second CF and his goal contributions has been decent if not spectacular.  So a small win for me.

- Bailey - I can't quite call this yet.  I had huge expectations that he hasn't really lived up to.  I do think that UE has the best chance of unlocking the potential and he's one of those players who gives the impression that at some point it might just click and then you could have an absolute beast of a player.  

Overall I think there are a lot more success stories than not.  I think the problem with recruitment to date has been less about the individual players and more about the wider picture - I have banged on for 2 or 3 years about imbalance, lack of options, etc.  I think our player churn has been more about the issues imposed by FFP and basically having to sign almost an entire squad when we got promoted for very little (in terms of average cost per player) and that this is what makes it look like we've spent badly (i.e. we have spent a lot more than other mid-table teams but that is partly because we've had to sign two squads worth of players).

I appreciate the detail you have gone into for your post, but with the squad of players we have we are going absolutely nowhere… consistency is our main issue and many of those players are not up to performing well every week. We need changes and we need to get rid of those types of players. If not, we will forever be stuck in this loop

[macandally]

6 minutes ago, Tayls said:

I appreciate the detail you have gone into for your post, but with the squad of players we have we are going absolutely nowhere… consistency is our main issue and many of those players are not up to performing well every week. We need changes and we need to get rid of those types of players. If not, we will forever be stuck in this loop

No players are up to performing every week at the Premier Leagues current pace, it’s why we and others are where we are compared to the elite.

City, Liverpool and others effectively have two teams and interchange based on stats.  Our second string is not to that level, hence the drop off.

[tonyh29]

3 hours ago, TheMightyVillans said:

- Moreno

- Guendouzi

- Lee kang-In

- Danjuma

I think that would be an exciting Jan window.

Need new CB + Backup Keeper but I think thats too much of a stretch for Jan.

New CB, RB, ST, Backup Keeper in the Summer

McKennie potentially as well ? could be that he’s instead of one of those players though 

[TheMightyVillans]

15 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

McKennie potentially as well ? could be that he’s instead of one of those players though 

I would imagine mckennie or guendouzi. I think guendouzi makes more sense with the emery connection. Guendouzi seems to have a lot of respect for emery.

[burchy]

All this talk of Guendouzi and McKennie, are they really what we need?

Other than Ramsey where do our goals come from in midfield? If our frontline is off we don’t look like scoring from elsewhere. 

IMHO it would be good to get a good box to box midfield that actually scores. I like Luiz but he doesn’t score enough. 

[lexicon]

7 minutes ago, burchy said:

All this talk of Guendouzi and McKennie, are they really what we need?

Other than Ramsey where do our goals come from in midfield? If our frontline is off we don’t look like scoring from elsewhere. 

IMHO it would be good to get a good box to box midfield that actually scores. I like Luiz but he doesn’t score enough. 

Guendouzi is a yes because we don't have a great passer in midfield. McGinn is currently filling that role and isn't doing a bad job but we could definitely improve on him. Parejo is the archetype, as he was Emery's man for Villarreal.

McKennie isn't a good passer and defensive duties are taken care of by Kamara and Luiz who are both talented, young and forming a very promising partnership.

 

[John]

10 hours ago, av1 said:

He plays in the same position we currently use Bailey, but on the left. 
 

He’s essentially playing as a second striker who drifts between CF and LW which allows an attacking LB the space to get forward. 
 

very good player. Would compliment Moreno perfectly and is a much better finisher than Bailey. 
 

 

That applies to more than a few of us on here, as well at the moment.

[allani]

2 hours ago, Tayls said:

I appreciate the detail you have gone into for your post, but with the squad of players we have we are going absolutely nowhere… consistency is our main issue and many of those players are not up to performing well every week. We need changes and we need to get rid of those types of players. If not, we will forever be stuck in this loop

We have had a huge problem with the balance of our midfield for at least 3 seasons - which has had a massive impact on our consistency week on week and also within matches.  Luiz and McGinn couldn't wrestle back control when we had lost it and we were far too reliant on them.  Dougie already looks much better alongside Kamara than he did before - he isn't having to pick up all the heavy lifting caused by McGinn failing to track his man, has more time and space than before and can also lay off the ball to Kamara when under pressure and not worry about the ball being lost.  I think we still need another central midfielder and so am not surprised that this seems to be a position where we are being heavily linked to players.  One more signing and midfield will have gone from being our Achilles Heel to probably our strongest area in the space of 7 months.  That is pretty impressive.

Also we have to remember that many of our current starting XI were signed in order to either win promotion or keep us up.  We are now expecting that those same players will allow us to challenge the Sly 6 - which is unrealistic.  Cash, Konsa, Mings, McGinn, Watkins have all been excellent signings in terms of getting us from where we were to where we are now.  Yes we are now at the point where some of them need replacing or need to become squad players rather than first names on the team-sheet.  But that doesn't make them bad signings.

The middle of the PL is hugely competitive - I think the fact that teams who have been in the PL for a long time are still bouncing around somewhere between 7th and 16th shows just how difficult it is.  Brighton, West Ham, Leicester, Everton, Wolves, etc have all gone from looking like the "best of the rest" to flirting with the relegation zone and maybe back again over the last few seasons.  Expecting us to suddenly turn up and immediately claim 7th or 8th is unrealistic.  Yes the last 24 months have been frustrating but generally I do feel that the squad has continued to improve during that time (although losing Jack was a big blow).  I also think that we are only 2 or 3 signings off being a very good team with plenty of options on the bench and the ability to better handle injuries and suspensions.  An obvious example of this would be that I think a McGinn coming on for 20 - 25 minutes of high action bustle is a very different player to a McGinn playing 40 full matches over a season despite looking completely shattered in every match after about 65 minutes.  More importantly I do think that UE is far more likely to find and implement a successful system and adapt to match situations than either Gerrard or Smith.

[PeterSw]

5 hours ago, TheMightyVillans said:

Moreno

- Guendouzi

- Lee kang-In

- Danjuma

I think that would be an exciting Jan window

Moreno in, Augustinsson out

Guendouzi in, Sanson out

Danjuma in, Ings out

Lee Kang-In in, someone else out

All upgrades in my opinion. Emery starting to shape his squad nicely if these all come through 

[PerryBarrPet]

1 minute ago, PeterSw said:

Moreno in, Augustinsson out

Guendouzi in, Sanson out

Danjuma in, Ings out

Lee Kang-In in, someone else out

All upgrades in my opinion. Emery starting to shape his squad nicely if these all come through 

Agreed. Lee Kang-in in, Nakamba out?

[Steero113]

4 minutes ago, PeterSw said:

Moreno in, Augustinsson out

Guendouzi in, Sanson out

Danjuma in, Ings out

Lee Kang-In in, someone else out

All upgrades in my opinion. Emery starting to shape his squad nicely if these all come through 

We'd be absolutely mad to sell Ings unless a Chelsea Cucurella level of stupid offer came in. 

[nick76]

5 minutes ago, PeterSw said:

Moreno in, Augustinsson out

Guendouzi in, Sanson out

Danjuma in, Ings out

Lee Kang-In in, someone else out

All upgrades in my opinion. Emery starting to shape his squad nicely if these all come through 

Ings out, is not a good thing!

[Sulberto21]

DO NOT SELL INGS! he’s the only one who can score at the moment. Ffs.

[John]

4 minutes ago, PeterSw said:

Moreno in, Augustinsson out

Guendouzi in, Sanson out

Danjuma in, Ings out

Lee Kang-In in, someone else out

All upgrades in my opinion. Emery starting to shape his squad nicely if these all come through 

   Yes, it could well be a window of some interesting in and outs. In UE we trust. 

[paul514]

1 minute ago, Sulberto21 said:

DO NOT SELL INGS! he’s the only one who can score at the moment. Ffs.

depends on the offer.

[PeterSw]

I'm a fan of Ings personally but with his age, wages, potential big money we receive and the fact that Emery doesn't really see him as a starter.. it might be worth cashing in now while we can. 

I read that Danjuma would be a loan initially so less risk in that.. unless we pay a £12m loan fee with no option to buy but I don't think any club is that stupid 

[Tomaszk]

Guendouzi is miles better than McKennie.