maqroll Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 3 hours ago, striker said: Villa should be bolstering the squad with quality this month to make sure they don’t collapse in the second half of the season. The first team are already showing signs of burn out while the second string squad players aren’t good enough. I would sincerely hope that the current position in the Premiership is taken advantage of with at least 3 quality players signed. If this doesn’t happen then failure to strengthen could cost Villa a Cl placement. YEP. The time to buy in january is when youre either struggling to stay up or fighting for top places. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaVilla Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 how about Carlos Soler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 A player I’ve always liked due to his likeness to Grealish, is Jack Clarke. Not sure if he could make the step up to the level we’re at now, but he’s a classy player. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 15 minutes ago, MaVilla said: how about Carlos Soler? He is apparently not allowed leave PSG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaVilla Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Just now, Zatman said: He is apparently not allowed leave PSG oh right, he isnt playing much so thought he might be available. Nothing surprises me with PSG tho tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, burchy said: Do we have a name for the striker, hope it’s that kid at Dortmund, Paris Brumner. He plays for Leipzig. Yannick Eduardo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biskitt Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I saw that Rafa Silva at Benfica is out of contract in the summer. 30 years old, plays as a number 10 but can also play wide and has 20+ caps for Portugal as well. 7 goals and 6 assists in 22 league and champions league games this season. Always thought he looked a good player and could be someone to potentially pick up relatively cheaply to add more firepower/options up front? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Biskitt said: I saw that Rafa Silva at Benfica is out of contract in the summer. 30 years old, plays as a number 10 but can also play wide and has 20+ caps for Portugal as well. 7 goals and 6 assists in 22 league and champions league games this season. Always thought he looked a good player and could be someone to potentially pick up relatively cheaply to add more firepower/options up front? We don’t need squad filler or options, we have the numbers (especially in forward areas) but we can definitely enhance the quality. It’s also a waste of resources (fees and wages) to sign players who aren’t going to make enough of an impact/contribution and can’t displace/push players in the first team. Other than a backup (or, even better, actual competition) for Kamara at DM and, eventually, an Olsen replacement… the only signings we really need to make or target are upgrades or genuine competition. E.g. a better or more suitable RB than Cash. And we can bide our time on those targets too… We don’t need to look in the bargain bin anymore, unless we can find an exceptional player such as we did when we got Kamara on a free!! Keeping an eye on genuinely top class players whose contracts are running down would be wise. But… we can and should spend on top players who can make us even better… those that Unai wants, rates and sees fitting into and enhancing our team. But… all we need is quality not quantity. If it’s not available or we can’t convince those higher level players to join… we don’t need to sign anyone. Our squad and especially our first 11 are great… with Unai at the helm, we can beat anyone on our day and we’ve shown it. The problem is, we suffer when those key players are missing or out of form/fitness… If we really want to compete for CL qualification (or the title! )… we have to stop signing so-so players and continue setting our sights higher. Good to see that most people are realising what a great signing Pau has been… continue in that vein… Tbf… there’s a lot more to come from certain individual players like Diaby, Zaniolo and the return to sharpness for Ramsey and Moreno… more from Tielemans too… Edited January 2 by Jas10 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I think we have done ok with Tielemans and Kamara out in terms of central midfield depth. I'm sure Tielemans would have played with Luiz in all three games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vancvillan Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 6 hours ago, Jas10 said: Our squad and especially our first 11 are great… with Unai at the helm, we can beat anyone on our day and we’ve shown it. The problem is, we suffer when those key players are missing or out of form/fitness… but doesn't your second sentence contradict the first? if we suffer when key players are missing our squad isn't great 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, CVByrne said: I think we have done ok with Tielemans and Kamara out in terms of central midfield depth. I'm sure Tielemans would have played with Luiz in all three games. His worst time at Leicester was playing the Kamara role. He's better further forward as been seen for us 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 10 hours ago, VillaChris said: Are all the midfielders who want to Saudi actually playing? Would pass on Henderson given what a complete hypocrite he's been to the LGBTQ+ community but likes of Kante or even Neves would be amazing pick ups for us on loan. No idea how feasible that is with FFP but you read stuff about Firmino already wanting to come back to europe so I'm assuming reality is hitting a few of the players now on what they left behind in europe. Think we'll be o.k in midfield in any case with Kamara and hopefully Tielemans available for next prem game. It's RB 100% and possibly final third where we simply can't afford to take risks so I'm expecting two signings in those areas. Newcastle are apparently interested in Henderson and Neves as well as Phillips, so I guess that they will get first dibs on anyone from Saudi. 9 hours ago, Delphinho123 said: A player I’ve always liked due to his likeness to Grealish, is Jack Clarke. Not sure if he could make the step up to the level we’re at now, but he’s a classy player. I like him too, Sky are currently linking him with a move to Luton for around £11m. I doubt that they would pay that or that Sunderland would want to sell, or that he would jump ship to them, but at that price someone in the PL would surely take a pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-Reacho Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 8 hours ago, Jas10 said: We don’t need squad filler or options, we have the numbers (especially in forward areas) but we can definitely enhance the quality. It’s also a waste of resources (fees and wages) to sign players who aren’t going to make enough of an impact/contribution and can’t displace/push players in the first team. Other than a backup (or, even better, actual competition) for Kamara at DM and, eventually, an Olsen replacement… the only signings we really need to make or target are upgrades or genuine competition. E.g. a better or more suitable RB than Cash. And we can bide our time on those targets too… We don’t need to look in the bargain bin anymore, unless we can find an exceptional player such as we did when we got Kamara on a free!! Keeping an eye on genuinely top class players whose contracts are running down would be wise. But… we can and should spend on top players who can make us even better… those that Unai wants, rates and sees fitting into and enhancing our team. But… all we need is quality not quantity. If it’s not available or we can’t convince those higher level players to join… we don’t need to sign anyone. Our squad and especially our first 11 are great… with Unai at the helm, we can beat anyone on our day and we’ve shown it. The problem is, we suffer when those key players are missing or out of form/fitness… If we really want to compete for CL qualification (or the title! )… we have to stop signing so-so players and continue setting our sights higher. Good to see that most people are realising what a great signing Pau has been… continue in that vein… Tbf… there’s a lot more to come from certain individual players like Diaby, Zaniolo and the return to sharpness for Ramsey and Moreno… more from Tielemans too… Moreno would’ve been considered a squad filler option this time last year and ended up being one of our best players in the run in. Was nearly 30, never played for a top club, never played in Europe or internationally, and cost relatively little. I’d say Monchi and Unai will be looking at similar profiles this January. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Steve Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 12 hours ago, Pongo Waring said: Is John Percy a shadow of his former self? Lost his main source I suspect 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, Vancvillan said: but doesn't your second sentence contradict the first? if we suffer when key players are missing our squad isn't great No because we need players of a similar level and competition. E.g. look how Bailey has improved since Diaby came in. If we keep signing average or mediocre players, the drop off continues to be severe. E.g. Kamara to Dendoncker. Our squad isn’t “great” unless everyone is fit, our strongest or preferred first 11 is (but can still be improved). But the debate was over signing bargain players to fill positions - something I don’t think is worthwhile or necessary. Again, quality not quantity. We don’t need to fill positions, we need enhancements or genuine competition. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 37 minutes ago, El-Reacho said: Moreno would’ve been considered a squad filler option this time last year and ended up being one of our best players in the run in. Was nearly 30, never played for a top club, never played in Europe or internationally, and cost relatively little. I’d say Monchi and Unai will be looking at similar profiles this January. Only if that player is deemed to be of worthwhile quality and capable of impacting the team. Moreno wasn’t signed to be filler or as an option - he was brought into the first team and preferred to Digne because of his attributes and style - and what an impact and contribution he made. It was the only first team signing Unai made and it was an excellent one. We have a great base to build on now… it’s also more difficult to sign top class attackers or forwards for bargain fees but not impossible… that’s where high level scouting comes in. Again, I’m talking about quality of player not cost necessarily. Like Moreno, we only need to sign players who are better or different than what we have, we don’t need to look for cut price deals just to add numbers to the squad. The squad has already been trimmed of “fat” so why add to that? That’s the point I was trying to make. We need to sign players that can push and even/preferably replace those in the team (otherwise “hold fire”), not to sit on the bench or treatment table… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke313 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I think whoever we sign will be somebody we probably don't expect or seen much of, not many of us new about Moreno before we signed him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, Kiwivillan said: His worst time at Leicester was playing the Kamara role. He's better further forward as been seen for us Yeah, and he hasn’t looked good at CM for us so far and has even been a liability - losing the ball cheaply and easily…costly errors. But with his improvement in form since Unai moved him into an attacking role, maybe that (along with improved fitness and match sharpness, aswell as more confidence) would allow him to be better there in future… but never as a DM. Aswell as RB, I think that’s a position where we need more quality depth. The Kamara to Dendoncker drop off is too severe, Leander cannot do what Bouba does. Every player in the side needs to be effective in possession and proficient in the pass… while being agile and composed. Press resistant… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinRichardsonsMoustache Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I think that Unai quite likes having a close-knit group and is realistic about who can come in to help when they need a good amount of time getting to know Unai's systems. As such, I think it'll be a matter of seeing if we can offload the likes of Donck and Chambers before we bring anyone else in and even then, I wouldn't expect an instant impact. It's difficult when we have two long-term injuries in Mings and Buendia. As much as we want to mount a real challenge for CL places, I can't see the club stockpiling players. Our challenge this window will be to prevent our current players having their heads turned by media speculation and agents. This is my biggest worry. I can see Arsenal trying to come in for Luiz and Watkins. They'll know no there's no way we would immediately accept their bids, but the aim might be to just unsettle them and see if the players will force a move. We'll have a similar situation in the summer when some of Europe's big clubs come in for Martinez (can't see them trying to sign him mid-season). Getting high-profile players to sign new long-term deals (with massive release clauses) would be a huge win this January just to settle down the idle media chatter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, El-Reacho said: Moreno would’ve been considered a squad filler option this time last year and ended up being one of our best players in the run in. Was nearly 30, never played for a top club, never played in Europe or internationally, and cost relatively little. I’d say Monchi and Unai will be looking at similar profiles this January. Moreno was a great signing given the fee but I don't think that is the usual profile we will target. In the summer we signed Diaby, Pau Torres and Tielemans and brought in Zaniolo and Lenglet on loans. Two of them were 24, two were 26, and one was 28. Moreno being 29 was an odd one but worked out well - however, I think that was more a short term signing and given both he and Digne are now 30 and both soon to be 31 we will probably need to sign another left back in the summer transfer window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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