Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Risso on May 14, 2024, 11:23:38 AM
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So assuming everybody like Mings, Rmasey and Buendia etc all come back at the level they're capable of, what do you think are the main requirements for this summer. In my opinion, it's something like:
1) Right back. I really like Cash, and think he gets a bit too much stick at times. But Emery doesn't appear completely sold on him, and the young lad we bought isn't going to be ready, so a good attacking right back is high on the list.
2) Left back. It seems like Digne might be moved on to free up his wages. Lucas has mostly been very good this season, and he would leave with my thanks. Moreno was very good last season, but injuries have meant he hasn't really done much this year, and he's 31 next month, so a top flight replacement please.
3) Defensive midfielder. Obviously Kamara is due back but it might not be until the second half of the season, and this season has shown it's a really key position, so I'd like a big money reinforcement. Worst case scenario, we've then got two really good defensive midfielders for the second half of the season.
The rest of midfield and attack I think we're largely good, and also in defence, although we might need a better back up than Carlosor Lenglet. If we do bring in another forward it needs to be someone mobile who can play anywhere across the front line.
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Im not sure if we will go for an attacking RB or a defensive one that can play CB when needed too.
Someone like Geertruida or St. Juste.
I agree about the rest...
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I'd like to retain Digne, he's had a very good season. Getting fullbacks that fit always seems to be a problem for us, now we have one in such good form I'd rather not mess with it, particularly as we'll be looking for a right back too. I guess it's up to him whether he's prepared to sign a contract at a level where we want to keep him.
Agree on everything else.
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Yep, fully agree - Improve quality (and age) of both fullbacks, and a straight swap for Kamara. At a push, a top level central defender too - Young enough, but has been there, done that.
I think in general, if we get everyone back fit and firing, midfield and forward line can cope for another season with FFP breathing down our necks.
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I'd like to retain Digne, he's had a very good season. Getting fullbacks that fit always seems to be a problem for us, now we have one in such good form I'd rather not mess with it, particularly as we'll be looking for a right back too. I guess it's up to him whether he's prepared to sign a contract at a level where we want to keep him.
Agree on everything else.
I'd rather keep as him as well, but I was working on what appears to be the accepted wisdom that his wages are a bit on the high side.
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So assuming everybody like Mings, Rmasey and Buendia etc all come back at the level they're capable of, what do you think are the main requirements for this summer. In my opinion, it's something like:
1) Right back. I really like Cash, and think he gets a bit too much stick at times. But Emery doesn't appear completely sold on him, and the young lad we bought isn't going to be ready, so a good attacking right back is high on the list.
2) Left back. It seems like Digne might be moved on to free up his wages. Lucas has mostly been very good this season, and he would leave with my thanks. Moreno was very good last season, but injuries have meant he hasn't really done much this year, and he's 31 next month, so a top flight replacement please.
3) Defensive midfielder. Obviously Kamara is due back but it might not be until the second half of the season, and this season has shown it's a really key position, so I'd like a big money reinforcement. Worst case scenario, we've then got two really good defensive midfielders for the second half of the season.
The rest of midfield and attack I think we're largely good, and also in defence, although we might need a better back up than Carlosor Lenglet. If we do bring in another forward it needs to be someone mobile who can play anywhere across the front line.
Agree with all of those as priority, I wonder if the muted deal for the guy at Athletico Madrid will sort out the left back one. If Digne is going back to France maybe have a word with Lille and see if we can do a part-ex with both their full backs, they both impressed me as much as anyone I've seen this season.
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New RB and LB are absolutely essential. Also a stand in for Kamara, Tim isn't that man sadly.
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Agree with all of those as priority, I wonder if the muted deal for the guy at Athletico Madrid will sort out the left back one. If Digne is going back to France maybe have a word with Lille and see if we can do a part-ex with both their full backs, they both impressed me as much as anyone I've seen this season.
Not Santos (No 22) He was an absolute prick from the Bruno school of cuntery. And no, he's not the sort of player I'd love if he played for us.
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New RB and LB are absolutely essential. Also a stand in for Kamara, Tim isn't that man sadly.
Looking at that, I may as well have just copied your post and agreed Risso 😅
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If we're looking to strengthen at centre back at all then Raphael Varane is available free this summer. 31 and injury prone so not going to play every week, but as an experienced option? Would come along for the CL football I would think
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Man Utd are currently paying him £17m per season.
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As I keep saying, forget about us taking on any drek from Old Trafford with their existing wages.
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The suggestion the other week was that we were prioritising a ‘box to box midfielder.’
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Agree with every word in the OP tbh. Maybe an upgrade on Carlos, but only if we get a good fee for him. Mings/Torres Konsa/Carlos should be more than enough.
Cash...no idea anymore. Consistency a problem at the minute, but he hasn't had a good run in the team in his actual position for a while. I rated him for a long time, but there's a bit of doubt there now.
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Nobody mentioned back up goalkeeper?
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Agree with all of those as priority, I wonder if the muted deal for the guy at Athletico Madrid will sort out the left back one. If Digne is going back to France maybe have a word with Lille and see if we can do a part-ex with both their full backs, they both impressed me as much as anyone I've seen this season.
Not Santos (No 22) He was an absolute prick from the Bruno school of cuntery. And no, he's not the sort of player I'd love if he played for us.
He caused us a lot of problems and was no more of a bellend than we come up against every week.
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Defo Right Back as took too much from Konsa. If Cash doesn't want to play 2nd fiddle then let him leave - no complaints about his effort here. Is the Serbian lad a RB?
LB - defo need top class if Moreno is as it appears long term problem. Also assume Digne goes.
CB - Carlos and Lenglet off hopefully. Need a replacement 4th choice assuming Mings is joint LCB option. Hopefully Rogers style replacement from league below.
Other than that not too sure. Ramsey may need to be sacrificed at the alter of FFP.
Obviously if he and Luiz goes then we need 2 midfielders, a 6 come 8 and an 8 or 8/10 to give us a good mix. Either way we could get 2 brilliant replacements and still have 20-30m in change to cover the above.
Don't want Countinho or Denonker back and Chambers can move too
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Nobody mentioned back up goalkeeper?
I did thank about that, but to be honest, if Emery keeps working with Olsen, is he going to be any worse than any other keeper prepared to just sit on the bench and be the back up to Emi?
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DM.
Imagine if we could wrap up a Kamara type deal as early as we got him in summer 2022?
Can't be going through half of next season with just three serious CMs given Kamara likely won't be back until the xmas period.
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So assuming everybody like Mings, Rmasey and Buendia etc all come back at the level they're capable of, what do you think are the main requirements for this summer. In my opinion, it's something like:
1) Right back. I really like Cash, and think he gets a bit too much stick at times. But Emery doesn't appear completely sold on him, and the young lad we bought isn't going to be ready, so a good attacking right back is high on the list.
2) Left back. It seems like Digne might be moved on to free up his wages. Lucas has mostly been very good this season, and he would leave with my thanks. Moreno was very good last season, but injuries have meant he hasn't really done much this year, and he's 31 next month, so a top flight replacement please.
3) Defensive midfielder. Obviously Kamara is due back but it might not be until the second half of the season, and this season has shown it's a really key position, so I'd like a big money reinforcement. Worst case scenario, we've then got two really good defensive midfielders for the second half of the season.
The rest of midfield and attack I think we're largely good, and also in defence, although we might need a better back up than Carlosor Lenglet. If we do bring in another forward it needs to be someone mobile who can play anywhere across the front line.
Love this thread every summer…I fully agree with your priorities Risso. Think Unai will want a right back who is better on the ball than Cash or Konsa. I like Cash & think he has a great energy so hope he is still around.
The interest for me is around how Unai shuffles his centre half options…it’s sometimes hard to forget that he is only 3 windows (1 of which was non existent to all) in to his rebuild so players like Diego he has inherited & bought best out of rather than necessarily wanting.
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I think we could cover several positions with three free transfers.
Lloyd Kelly. LCB/LB. 6'3", pacy, good passer, comfortable on the ball.
Tosin Adarabioyo. RCB. 6'5', good passer, comfortable on the ball. Great in the air.
Wilfried Ndidi. CDM/CM. 6'1, strong, bit of pace. Good tackling, decent passer.
Covers a few positions where we will be shorter, if Lenglet, Carlos, Dendoncker, Chambers, Hause & Digne leaves. (Possibly Cash too).
All have strength, all have height, a bit of pace. All comfortable on the ball.
Just leaves us to pick up a RB then & either one of Lutsharel Geertruidaor or Jeremiah St. Juste because they fit the mould of the players above with height, pace, comfort on the ball, with good passing. Both can play at RB/CB/CDM too. St. Juste would be my choice because he has ridiculous pace.
Wouldn't cost the earth, but would give us lots of options all cross the back & at CDM to cover for league & European games. And it helps to work to amend our inability to defend set pieces due to the height discrepancies.
We can then send Iroegbunam out on loan to a decent club abroad, along with maybe Nedeljković, Sousa, depending on what they show us in pre season. Maybe send Kesler-Hayden out again too, depending on his pre-season form.
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a top quality, dominating centre half with heading ability
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I think the first two you’ve mentioned are pretty much already in the bag for Newcastle, Pablo.
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Cash is a very good squad player but an area we need improving. I fully expect to see Carlos moved on and rightly so. He will need replacing. Wouldn't be too surprised to see Dougie sold, I hope not but if an astronomical offer were to come in I could see it happening. Tim is not ready and even if he was isn't at the right level we require so time to sell. So another Dougie type too hopefully.
We really need two first team squads going into the CL even with the returning injured. I think I'd like Smith-Rowe too, he seems to be available and would give us another option in attack.
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a top quality, dominating centre half with heading ability
Mings will be fit so that's covered.
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I think the first two you’ve mentioned are pretty much already in the bag for Newcastle, Pablo.
Oh really?
Shit... They make a few of signings I want.
I was really desperate for us to get Isak before he went to them...
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I think the first two you’ve mentioned are pretty much already in the bag for Newcastle, Pablo.
Oh really?
Shit... They make a few of signings I want.
I was really desperate for us to get Isak before he went to them...
Kelly would be linking up with Howe and TOWIE twat again.
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I think the first two you’ve mentioned are pretty much already in the bag for Newcastle, Pablo.
Oh really?
Shit... They make a few of signings I want.
I was really desperate for us to get Isak before he went to them...
Kelly would be linking up with Howe and TOWIE twat again.
I had forgotten about that link.
I go back to the drawing board, lol...
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Nobody mentioned back up goalkeeper?
I did thank about that, but to be honest, if Emery keeps working with Olsen, is he going to be any worse than any other keeper prepared to just sit on the bench and be the back up to Emi?
The problem with Olsen isn't that he's a terrible keeper, but that he's a terrible keeper for a team that wants to play from the back, invite the press and beat it.
We need a keeper who CAN play from the back to step in when Martinez is injured/suspended/rested.
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I'll be interested to see how much Kosta Nedeljkovic will be used next season.
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The problem with Olsen isn't that he's a terrible keeper, but that he's a terrible keeper for a team that wants to play from the back, invite the press and beat it.
We need a keeper who CAN play from the back to step in when Martinez is injured/suspended/rested.
I think the problem is that a number two who's even reasonably comfortable on the ball is going to have to be playing regularly for a team who plays like that. There aren't many teams who do, and if they do, why would their keeper want to come and be second fiddle?
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Pure speculation on my part, but I reckon we might go for someone like Solanke to strengthen our squad and forward options, ditto someone like Sander Berge for the midfield. Possibly not the most exciting of signings but these are the kinds of players that our manager excels at polishing up.
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i think a defensive RB is more necessary.
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a top quality, dominating centre half with heading ability
Mings will be fit so that's covered.
will he come back the same ?
Obviously we pray he does, but we can have another one to replace Carlos who is none of those things.
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Pure speculation on my part, but I reckon we might go for someone like Solanke to strengthen our squad and forward options, ditto someone like Sander Berge for the midfield. Possibly not the most exciting of signings but these are the kinds of players that our manager excels at polishing up.
Sander Berge! You do realise we’re now in the top 4 and not the bottom 6.
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I think we could cover several positions with three free transfers.
Lloyd Kelly. LCB/LB. 6'3", pacy, good passer, comfortable on the ball.
Tosin Adarabioyo. RCB. 6'5', good passer, comfortable on the ball. Great in the air.
Wilfried Ndidi. CDM/CM. 6'1, strong, bit of pace. Good tackling, decent passer.
Covers a few positions where we will be shorter, if Lenglet, Carlos, Dendoncker, Chambers, Hause & Digne leaves. (Possibly Cash too).
All have strength, all have height, a bit of pace. All comfortable on the ball.
Just leaves us to pick up a RB then & either one of Lutsharel Geertruidaor or Jeremiah St. Juste because they fit the mould of the players above with height, pace, comfort on the ball, with good passing. Both can play at RB/CB/CDM too. St. Juste would be my choice because he has ridiculous pace.
Wouldn't cost the earth, but would give us lots of options all cross the back & at CDM to cover for league & European games. And it helps to work to amend our inability to defend set pieces due to the height discrepancies.
We can then send Iroegbunam out on loan to a decent club abroad, along with maybe Nedeljković, Sousa, depending on what they show us in pre season. Maybe send Kesler-Hayden out again too, depending on his pre-season form.
I'd take Tosin, I think he's a very good defender on a free and would really help with the lack of height in the team.
Kelly would be ok if either Digne is going or we don't think Mings will be ready for the start of the season.
I don't rate Ndidi. He was good a few years back but he's missed a lot of games in the last couple of years and was really poor in their relegation team. For DM I'd be looking at Manu Kone, he's not a 'real' DM but he's a niggly battler with loads of skill and really good on the ball, I think he'd balance out our options really well in there.
For right back I'd want to see what Man City plan to do with Couto who's been out at Girona, he looks exceptional but i suspect they'll want to bring him into their team, could be a Palmer style sneaky one though.
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Pure speculation on my part, but I reckon we might go for someone like Solanke to strengthen our squad and forward options, ditto someone like Sander Berge for the midfield. Possibly not the most exciting of signings but these are the kinds of players that our manager excels at polishing up.
Sander Berge! You do realise we’re now in the top 4 and not the bottom 6.
Yes, but I agree with Billy Walker in that we're going to sign one or two that make you think in the way you've just responded, only for us all to be saying six months down the line what a player he is.
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And wasn't it Ndidi that cushioned that lovely pass to Bert to do his stuff at Leicester last season?
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I always thought Guendouzi would be a good fit for someone who could play both the pivot role and further forward. He's on loan from Marseille, so you would imagine could be gettable and add versatility to the squad.
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DM is my number 1 priority.
Full backs next if we look to move on Cash and Digne. However happy enough if they stayed.
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I'm adding nothing new here: DM, RB, LB, CB. Latter 2 are if there are departures. Anything else is a bonus. Rumours earlier are that we are in for a forward, so I reckon if that is the case it will be a utility forward like Nico Williams (hopefully Nico Williams).
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It doesn’t really matter who we sign, because they’ll be injured within two games anyway.
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Pure speculation on my part, but I reckon we might go for someone like Solanke to strengthen our squad and forward options, ditto someone like Sander Berge for the midfield. Possibly not the most exciting of signings but these are the kinds of players that our manager excels at polishing up.
Sander Berge! You do realise we’re now in the top 4 and not the bottom 6.
Ha! I just think he's the kind of player Unai could get a real tune from.
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I still think we need another forward. Yes, Ollie has proven himself to be made of granite these last few years, but he has been SO important to our play this season that I think losing him for any period of time would hugely upset our balance.
Duran is great and can contribute from the bench and a few starts (clearly), but he's a totally different sort of player to Ollie, and we have nothing behind either of them unless we play a false 9.
We clearly have goals throughout the side now, with all of the 'front five' positions contributing goals and assists, so the "Ollie back up" doesn't need to be a prolific goalscorer, just someone who can play as the focal point of our attack without the standard dropping off too much when Ollie gets a knock or needs a rest.
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Two proper fullbacks.
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As an aside, isn't it nice to be in a position where you look at the squad and not find yourself thinking, "They've got to go" about any of them with a dozen or so appearances?
I can't remember the last time we had a squad without at least a couple of positions in need of decent upgrades. If everyone is fit (big if), then we're in a very healthy place right now.
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I still think we need another forward. Yes, Ollie has proven himself to be made of granite these last few years, but he has been SO important to our play this season that I think losing him for any period of time would hugely upset our balance.
Duran is great and can contribute from the bench and a few starts (clearly), but he's a totally different sort of player to Ollie, and we have nothing behind either of them unless we play a false 9.
We clearly have goals throughout the side now, with all of the 'front five' positions contributing goals and assists, so the "Ollie back up" doesn't need to be a prolific goalscorer, just someone who can play as the focal point of our attack without the standard dropping off too much when Ollie gets a knock or needs a rest.
I suggested Mateta at Palace a few weeks back (and got scoffed at), but since then he's turned into a giant Gerd Muller and his price has probably tripled. Good player though and would offer something slightly different to others.
As a leftfield option they had Lecce - Udinese on the telly last night in the Villa Tavern before the game, and I saw the Udinese centre forward hold up the ball well under pressure, fire a great pass out wide, then get on the end of the subsequent cross with a Benteke-esque leap over the defender forcing the keeper to palm it out for a tap in. Looked the real deal, didn't get his name though.
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It's on here, about 2:05.
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I still think we need another forward. Yes, Ollie has proven himself to be made of granite these last few years, but he has been SO important to our play this season that I think losing him for any period of time would hugely upset our balance.
Duran is great and can contribute from the bench and a few starts (clearly), but he's a totally different sort of player to Ollie, and we have nothing behind either of them unless we play a false 9.
We clearly have goals throughout the side now, with all of the 'front five' positions contributing goals and assists, so the "Ollie back up" doesn't need to be a prolific goalscorer, just someone who can play as the focal point of our attack without the standard dropping off too much when Ollie gets a knock or needs a rest.
Hard to get a player in though who could be on the bench for long stretches, or even displace Ollie to the bench. Also apart from Newcastle, there are not many other teams who have two strikers who play a similar way, and as one is normally injured when the other is fit, it has worked for them. Personally I think Rogers or Diaby at a stretch could fulfil a role up front if we lost both Duran and Ollie at the same time. Not sure if Wilson or Moore are ready yet.
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I didn't scoff at Mateta Lee. I'm fully behind the wheeze.
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It's on here, about 2:05.
Didn't score though......
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As a leftfield option they had Lecce - Udinese on the telly last night in the Villa Tavern before the game, and I saw the Udinese centre forward hold up the ball well under pressure, fire a great pass out wide, then get on the end of the subsequent cross with a Benteke-esque leap over the defender forcing the keeper to palm it out for a tap in. Looked the real deal, didn't get his name though.
Hah. Very good.
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For an attacking option I'd love us to go for for de ketelaere, should be available for about £20m but obviously there's a big chance he'll want to stay with Atalanta.
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Have we got any chance of making our annual trip to Leverkusen and snapping Wirtz?
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Have we got any chance of making our annual trip to Leverkusen and snapping Wirtz?
Frimpong would be top of the list from there for me.
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I didn't scoff at Mateta Lee. I'm fully behind the wheeze.
I know brother, I know.
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Nobody mentioned back up goalkeeper?
I did thank about that, but to be honest, if Emery keeps working with Olsen, is he going to be any worse than any other keeper prepared to just sit on the bench and be the back up to Emi?
I think you're going soft mate. Not like you!
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I think I've mostly been fairly complimentary to Mr Olsen of late!
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GK is tough because you'd hope that Gauci and Sinisalo would both be looking to make an impression in the summer and try to work their way into getting starts in the domestic cups. I'd asusme only 1 of them will be round the squad next year but even still it makes the case for just sticking with Olsen as an experienced backup even clearer.
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A right back and a left back if Digne goes.
Also someone to replace Luiz if he goes as well.
We got really thin on the ground in the last few weeks so we generally need better cover and options.
For forward options and having other ways to play, I like Solanke, Mbeumo and Wissa if we were to make CL next season. Not all of them of course, but someone like that with pace who is still improving.
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I do like Mbeumo too, he appears to be a very productive player.
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I reckon we need to find someone like Diogo Jota when Liverpool picked him up from Wolves. When they bought him, it was off the back of two Premier League seasons of seven goals and nine goals. Nothing that impressive but they saw something that they thought would transfer well into their system and he would be a better player for Liverpool than the one they bought who was playing for Wolves. Now he scores nearly a goal every other game for them.
There are some players who excel when they're the best player in a team but only do so well because everything goes through them - stick them in a different side and it unbalances things. I'd hope we're looking at the Jotas rather than the Toneys.
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I reckon we need to find someone like Diogo Jota when Liverpool picked him up from Wolves. When they bought him, it was off the back of two Premier League seasons of seven goals and nine goals. Nothing that impressive but they saw something that they thought would transfer well into their system and he would be a better player for Liverpool than the one they bought who was playing for Wolves. Now he scores nearly a goal every other game for them.
There are some players who excel when they're the best player in a team but only do so well because everything goes through them - stick them in a different side and it unbalances things. I'd hope we're looking at the Jotas rather than the Toneys.
Funnily enough I feel like Mbuemo or Wissa fit that profile. They always look excellent to me.
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I agree Dave, and guess this is where Monchi comes to the fore.
The discussion about Smith-Rowe the other day was interesting, not making a case for him personally but there are players out there that might not be getting games somewhere because there are other players in front of them, or because the manager or system doesn't suit them, whatever really, but it doesn't make them poor players and they might be absolutely perfect for us.
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Rb for sure is the key one
We need a cb that is aerially dominating
Dm as kams not back for a while.
A striker because durans very inconsistent and if ollie were to pick up a long term injury we are short there.
Left back as digne will be moved on.
If greedy a wide player to compete with bailey and diabs
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I reckon we need to find someone like Diogo Jota when Liverpool picked him up from Wolves. When they bought him, it was off the back of two Premier League seasons of seven goals and nine goals. Nothing that impressive but they saw something that they thought would transfer well into their system and he would be a better player for Liverpool than the one they bought who was playing for Wolves. Now he scores nearly a goal every other game for them.
There are some players who excel when they're the best player in a team but only do so well because everything goes through them - stick them in a different side and it unbalances things. I'd hope we're looking at the Jotas rather than the Toneys.
Funnily enough I feel like Mbuemo or Wissa fit that profile. They always look excellent to me.
I agree, they're much more important to Brentford. I think it's funny Toney came back with some WWE entrance and has largely been a nonentity.
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I reckon we need to find someone like Diogo Jota when Liverpool picked him up from Wolves. When they bought him, it was off the back of two Premier League seasons of seven goals and nine goals. Nothing that impressive but they saw something that they thought would transfer well into their system and he would be a better player for Liverpool than the one they bought who was playing for Wolves. Now he scores nearly a goal every other game for them.
There are some players who excel when they're the best player in a team but only do so well because everything goes through them - stick them in a different side and it unbalances things. I'd hope we're looking at the Jotas rather than the Toneys.
Funnily enough I feel like Mbuemo or Wissa fit that profile. They always look excellent to me.
I agree, they're much more important to Brentford. I think it's funny Toney came back with some WWE entrance and has largely been a nonentity.
I think its funny because he comes over as an absolute bellend and it's always funny when people like that fail.
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I agree Dave, and guess this is where Monchi comes to the fore.
The discussion about Smith-Rowe the other day was interesting, not making a case for him personally but there are players out there that might not be getting games somewhere because there are other players in front of them, or because the manager or system doesn't suit them, whatever really, but it doesn't make them poor players and they might be absolutely perfect for us.
Very true. It's why also someone like Berge isn't that silly an idea either.
And I think Rogers really makes this case, he's almost our version of that Jota example. Nearly everyone scoffed at the idea based on what he was doing at Middlesbrough. But he's already a better player in our side than he ever was in theirs.
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I really like Mbuemo and think he could fit really well in our setup. But with them losing Toney Brentford would be nuts to sell him.
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And we haven't bought anyone off Brentford for a while, they must think we've fell out with them.
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Assuming none of the top players ask to leave, i'd hope for;
Martinez, New experienced GK, Gauci
Cash, Nedeljkovic
Digne, Moreno
Konsa, Carlos, Mings, Torres
New defensive mid, McGinn, Luiz, Kamara, Tielemans, Ramsey
Bailey, Diaby, Buendia, Rogers, New quality forward that can play across the line
Watkins, Duran
So that's 24. Maybe some youth players to add a few numbers.
Offload Olsen, Coutinho, Dendonkar and send back Zaniolo and Lenglet. If Digne went obviously we'd have to replace him.
If we've have a shit time with injuries bring a few more in during January, possibly on loan.
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Somebody to cover and challenge for Kamara is huge. We've become really porous since he's gone out the side and there's been a lot of additional pressure on the back four.
JJ, Emi Buendia and Tyrone coming back ought to really boost the quality of the squad.
I'd like to see another midfielder with the ball retention of Tielemans too, as we'll need to go full tilt in Europe and in our challenge for improvement in the league. That would ultimately give us 6 quality central options in McGinn, Tielemans, Luiz, Kamara and 2 new boys. McGinn, JJ, Rogers and Buendia being those midfield options left or at 10. Diaby and Bailey the other side.
Full backs for me are an issue. I think this is probably Dignes last season. Moreno hasn't been fit, Cashy I'd keep around but think we can improve upon him.
It would be nice to hope we're a touch luckier with injuries.
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And we haven't bought anyone off Brentford for a while, they must think we've fell out with them.
Mee keeps getting injured so we haven't had chance to.
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I would actually argue a McGinn type midfielder. He has played upwards of 60 games this season for club and country and now has no rest in the summer. I'm sorry for our Scottish contingent but I'm really hopeful of a three and done Euros for you lot. So to have someone in to allow him to rest up or to cover for his occasional disciplinary enforced absences.
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We are an old team with average age of 27.5 so we need to shift that to 26/25.
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So assuming everybody like Mings, Rmasey and Buendia etc all come back at the level they're capable of, what do you think are the main requirements for this summer. In my opinion, it's something like:
1) Right back. I really like Cash, and think he gets a bit too much stick at times. But Emery doesn't appear completely sold on him, and the young lad we bought isn't going to be ready, so a good attacking right back is high on the list.
2) Left back. It seems like Digne might be moved on to free up his wages. Lucas has mostly been very good this season, and he would leave with my thanks. Moreno was very good last season, but injuries have meant he hasn't really done much this year, and he's 31 next month, so a top flight replacement please.
3) Defensive midfielder. Obviously Kamara is due back but it might not be until the second half of the season, and this season has shown it's a really key position, so I'd like a big money reinforcement. Worst case scenario, we've then got two really good defensive midfielders for the second half of the season.
The rest of midfield and attack I think we're largely good, and also in defence, although we might need a better back up than Carlosor Lenglet. If we do bring in another forward it needs to be someone mobile who can play anywhere across the front line.
Agree with this. Can't see us being able to spend a lot this summer, so don't think there will be too many coming in. RB and DCM are the two absolute priorities for me. Other positions depend on players moving on I suppose (Carlos and Digne spring to mind).
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We are an old team with average age of 27.5 so we need to shift that to 26/25.
I’m sure I’ve seen how they do this in old films, something about harvesting the blood of virgins.
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We are an old team with average age of 27.5 so we need to shift that to 26/25.
I’m sure I’ve seen how they do this in old films, something about harvesting the blood of virgins.
Or blood doping, like the great Milan and Juve teams.
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Obviously it depends who’s leaving. But defensive midfield back-up is very obviously a gap and I think both full back areas need attention (I suspect Digne is leaving).
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I don't really see why people are convinced that Digne will go.
It made sense last summer when he was a reserve for a mid-table side, so both for us to get his wages off the books and for him to go and play somewhere. But if he's first choice for a team in the Champions League (*counts chickens*) then he's just earning the sort of wages that those players earn.
He's not particularly old, he's made himself first choice in his position, he's important for how we play, he seems happy here, he's earning good money - why would we be selling him? Unless going back to France is a priority and he's happy to earn less money there, I reckon a year or two contract extension is more likely than him going.
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I hope so, I think he’s been great this year.
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It was pointed out the issue of lack of dominance at central back air duels are 19th in the league very low at winning these and that Carragjer said the need for a domineering centre back
That perhaps would be a priority for champions league level
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I don't really see why people are convinced that Digne will go.
It made sense last summer when he was a reserve for a mid-table side, so both for us to get his wages off the books and for him to go and play somewhere. But if he's first choice for a team in the Champions League (*counts chickens*) then he's just earning the sort of wages that those players earn.
He's not particularly old, he's made himself first choice in his position, he's important for how we play, he seems happy here, he's earning good money - why would we be selling him? Unless going back to France is a priority and he's happy to earn less money there, I reckon a year or two contract extension is more likely than him going.
Yeah it feels like making unnecessary work for ourselves in light of this season. His demeanor and performance do not suggest a player eager to leave either.
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Centre Back, Right Back and Defensive Midfielder I would prioritise. Lenglets loan finishes soon doesn't it and Diego Carlos I think hasn't been all that.
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Why Digne was appointed (i assume he was) to mark the giant at the back stick for their 3rd is beyond my understanding of the game.
I would like to see a proper big horrible bastard in the middle of the park that can really stamp his authority on opposition midfield.
Obviously (as would anyone) like someone in the Rodri mould - maybe Decorere at Everton
I wonder if Neves is bored of the sun and counting his money in Saudi?
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I agree Dave, and guess this is where Monchi comes to the fore.
The discussion about Smith-Rowe the other day was interesting, not making a case for him personally but there are players out there that might not be getting games somewhere because there are other players in front of them, or because the manager or system doesn't suit them, whatever really, but it doesn't make them poor players and they might be absolutely perfect for us.
Very true. It's why also someone like Berge isn't that silly an idea either.
And I think Rogers really makes this case, he's almost our version of that Jota example. Nearly everyone scoffed at the idea based on what he was doing at Middlesbrough. But he's already a better player in our side than he ever was in theirs.
Absolutely.
And I admit that I was one who had questions about the signing, but I am very happy for him to prove me wrong.
The Emery effect on players cannot be understated when looking at potential transfers.
Especially the younger ones with big potentials.
Maybe even Kosta Nedeljković might come in as a starter next year based on this...
Either way, it's wonderful to see the improvements of almost every player in the squad under Emerys tutelage.
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Edited
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Top quality DM/CM
Right back (genuine starting contender)
Back up keeper
Centre half
Attacking mid/LW
Not sure re names for all that lot. But Fofana at Monaco might be a good option for midfield. The link with the Napoli RB and captain Di Lorenzo is interesting as well.
I seen links with Callum O'Hare knocking about a few weeks ago as well. At first glance you'd obv say we should be doing better. But home grown considerations and all that jazz. We'll need a few of those sort of signings to balance the more ambitious ones.
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Now we have CL to offer, I expect the incoming quality to be of a much higher level. Monchi, make it so.
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Top quality DM/CM
Right back (genuine starting contender)
Back up keeper
Centre half
Attacking mid/LW
Not sure re names for all that lot. But Fofana at Monaco might be a good option for midfield. The link with the Napoli RB and captain Di Lorenzo is interesting as well.
I seen links with Callum O'Hare knocking about a few weeks ago as well. At first glance you'd obv say we should be doing better. But home grown considerations and all that jazz. We'll need a few of those sort of signings to balance the more ambitious ones.
Can we get the more ambitious ones in first?! ;)
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Is it too late to grab Mbappe and make a cheeky offer for Bellingham?
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Is it too late to grab Mbappe and make a cheeky offer for Bellingham?
Mbappe was really talking Unai up the other day as the best coach he’s played for. The fella knows class when he sees it!
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So assuming everybody like Mings, Rmasey and Buendia etc all come back at the level they're capable of, what do you think are the main requirements for this summer. In my opinion, it's something like:
1) Right back. I really like Cash, and think he gets a bit too much stick at times. But Emery doesn't appear completely sold on him, and the young lad we bought isn't going to be ready, so a good attacking right back is high on the list.
2) Left back. It seems like Digne might be moved on to free up his wages. Lucas has mostly been very good this season, and he would leave with my thanks. Moreno was very good last season, but injuries have meant he hasn't really done much this year, and he's 31 next month, so a top flight replacement please.
3) Defensive midfielder. Obviously Kamara is due back but it might not be until the second half of the season, and this season has shown it's a really key position, so I'd like a big money reinforcement. Worst case scenario, we've then got two really good defensive midfielders for the second half of the season.
The rest of midfield and attack I think we're largely good, and also in defence, although we might need a better back up than Carlosor Lenglet. If we do bring in another forward it needs to be someone mobile who can play anywhere across the front line.
Agreed on your assessment at RB, LB, CM. We need a much better option at RCB than Carlos too. Both Konsa and Torres need stronger competition. Backup keeper is a tricky one but Newcastle missed Pope badly after his injury so we would be taking a similar risk. Palhinha at Fulham would be the ideal big signing of the summer at CM. Really could do with the injured trio of Mings, Ramsey and Buendia being fully fit.
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Grealish looks done at Man City.
Sneaky bid for £50m?
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Grealish looks done at Man City.
Sneaky bid for £50m?
I'd say he'd be a better fit for that lot in League 1.
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Considering FFP, I think this summer is going to be all about getting a squad together that can compete on 2 fronts and play in the style Unai wants. Mings and Buendia I see very much as bonus players until Christmas time considering their injuries.
Carlos is nowhere near good enough for me, he's a liability half the time. A faster, taller, better right sided centre half, and a free left sided centre half to cover Mings until he's fully fit are a given I think.
Holding mid is blindingly obvious to cover Kamara and then compete with. Monchi has to pull a rabbit here, ideally a Rogers type one in she and profile.
Right back with a final ball and positional sense.
A left sided playmaker. A player that we can give the ball to and he'll keep it, pick the right pass, dictate the game a bit. Odegaard, McAllister, Debruyne type. The kid at Villareal seems to be the type you want in that role.
Cheap, experienced striker. Duran is brilliantly talented, but if there is a freebie out there that can give us a player to rotate Ollie a bit, we should be looking.
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Is it too late to grab Mbappe and make a cheeky offer for Bellingham?
Mbappe was really talking Unai up the other day as the best coach he’s played for. The fella knows class when he sees it!
Mbappe and his mom would be a nightmare. All about him and his ego.
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If we're looking to strengthen at centre back at all then Raphael Varane is available free this summer. 31 and injury prone so not going to play every week, but as an experienced option? Would come along for the CL football I would think
That’s a bad take, an old, out of form, injury prone expensive player who is no upgrade. It crosses every box.
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Considering FFP, I think this summer is going to be all about getting a squad together that can compete on 2 fronts and play in the style Unai wants. Mings and Buendia I see very much as bonus players until Christmas time considering their injuries.
Carlos is nowhere near good enough for me, he's a liability half the time. A faster, taller, better right sided centre half, and a free left sided centre half to cover Mings until he's fully fit are a given I think.
Holding mid is blindingly obvious to cover Kamara and then compete with. Monchi has to pull a rabbit here, ideally a Rogers type one in she and profile.
Right back with a final ball and positional sense.
A left sided playmaker. A player that we can give the ball to and he'll keep it, pick the right pass, dictate the game a bit. Odegaard, McAllister, Debruyne type. The kid at Villareal seems to be the type you want in that role.
Cheap, experienced striker. Duran is brilliantly talented, but if there is a freebie out there that can give us a player to rotate Ollie a bit, we should be looking.
So you are after a De Bruyne type and Olly Watkins rotation player, both for free? Care to throw in some names?
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Somehow I can't see Monchi going for older seasoned players, with what we have to offer I hope he goes for younger ambitious players that want to play for the best manager in the premiership.
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Surely the main issue with FFP is getting the wage bill down. Therefore getting rid of countinho hause chambers (sanson is one gone) digne carlos ans maybe cash - will massively allow a transfer splurge
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Somehow I can't see Monchi going for older seasoned players, with what we have to offer I hope he goes for younger ambitious players that want to play for the best manager in the premiership.
Exactly this, he needs to be pulling the next Van de Ven off the rank for us
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Somehow I can't see Monchi going for older seasoned players, with what we have to offer I hope he goes for younger ambitious players that want to play for the best manager in the premiership.
Exactly this, he needs to be pulling the next Van de Ven off the rank for us
I agree gareth. We are strongly linked with baena from villareal and thats the profile of player we should be looking at.
We shouldn't be spending big on 29 years old for example like gerrad was
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I'm not going to repeat what has already been said - RB, CB, DCM are priority. LB will also be a priority if we decide to offload one of our current players. There are strong rumours around Hermoso: if this is the CB improvement, happy days.
A lot will depend on any outgoings and PSR considerations that we're not fully 'sighted' on.
I like the idea that Gendouzi might still be available: he's athletic and a box-to-box player and will probably not be massively expensive whilst also knowing the league. I would not be in favour of Ndidi particularly: I don't recall many games where he's been stand-out. Kosta N will be our RB cover; not sure we'll go for another resource there.
I don't think anyone above has addressed the issue of Cam Archer. If he is to return, I'd be in favour of keeping him as cover for Watkins and Diaby: I think he can play across the line, adds something a little different and knows the league; he also adds to our homegrown / PSR story. We would not need more incomers upfront.
I also wonder about the purchase of Souza at LB: since he hasn't played much at Plymouth he is probably not a player for next season, but let's see what happens over the summer and pre-season.
Outgoings are as important a consideration as incoming: I do think Lenglet, Carlos, Hause, Dendoncker are gone. Tim may also depart, along with players like Chrisene and Revan. I have a feeling they will keep Olsen for another season, giving Cauci and Sinisalo the time to further mature in this environment. Those who might be sold if the right offer comes in are Cash, Ramsey and Luiz, but I'd be disappointed to see any of them go (I get that anyone is available for sale if crazy offers come in).
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I'm just looking forward to seeing who we buy.
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I'm just looking forward to strutting around Tenerife permanently clad in something Villa related in a few weeks time to be honest.
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You'd have to feel sorry for Digne if after everything he's done to get us into the CL he then gets punted off to a team not in it. He won't have many more opportunities to play in it.
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You'd have to feel sorry for Digne if after everything he's done to get us into the CL he then gets punted off to a team not in it. He won't have many more opportunities to play in it.
Well if he wants to stick around he's got two years left on his contract. So there's no need for him to go anywhere unless he wants to.
Still can't see any reason we'd be punting him off anywhere though. He has also played more Champions League matches than (I think) anyone else in our squad, for three different clubs. So it's not like he's not been there and done that already.
Edit - actually maybe Tielemans has more.
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Grealish looks done at Man City.
Sneaky bid for £50m?
I'd say he'd be a better fit for that lot in League 1.
No thanks - plateaued as a player, we haven't as a team.
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One out already. Best of luck morgan
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You'd have to feel sorry for Digne if after everything he's done to get us into the CL he then gets punted off to a team not in it. He won't have many more opportunities to play in it.
Well if he wants to stick around he's got two years left on his contract. So there's no need for him to go anywhere unless he wants to.
Still can't see any reason we'd be punting him off anywhere though. He has also played more Champions League matches than (I think) anyone else in our squad, for three different clubs. So it's not like he's not been there and done that already.
Edit - actually maybe Tielemans has more.
1) Lenglet (by miles)
2) Digne
3) Tielemans
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Ta.
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I think the wider point is a good one though, tough on any players who do leave this summer, going just as we qualify for the first time. Unless it's someone like Luiz going to the Arse of course.
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I don't really see too many players leaving really. Lenglet and Zaniolo will return to their parent clubs. If a taker for Dendoncker, Chambers and Hause can be found then they'll obviously be gone - but it's not as if they've really been part of this season's journey to get us here (cameo from Chambers on Monday aside). Coutinho is obviously going to be out on loan again or paid off, but likewise to the three above.
All the talk of how we need to ship out Cash, Carlos, Digne, Olsen etc and buy a load of replacements just doesn't feel how this summer is going to go. We have a really good squad which needs some upgrades and additional depth (as per your original post), and most importantly the injured players back again.
It doesn't feel like we need to sell four or five players who have played a lot this season and and buy replacements for them in addition to the two or three extra bodies that we need already.
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Funny how the goalie cover chat has piped down.
I think we need cover at RB and another centre forward to throw on. Remember we have been lucky with injuries with Olly. We don't know who is paid what but if we need to shed a few high earners/those who can give us the profit needed to comply with FFP then so be it.
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As a leftfield option they had Lecce - Udinese on the telly last night in the Villa Tavern before the game, and I saw the Udinese centre forward hold up the ball well under pressure, fire a great pass out wide, then get on the end of the subsequent cross with a Benteke-esque leap over the defender forcing the keeper to palm it out for a tap in. Looked the real deal, didn't get his name though.
Hah. Very good.
Similarly, forget Baena, surely this is this the left-footed fella at Villareal, we want? Scored a lovely goal last night (posted on his own thread but it's in ''Other Football'' where traffic is (s)low).
90 seconds in although he also nearly scores with the first piece of action:
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Somehow I can't see Monchi going for older seasoned players, with what we have to offer I hope he goes for younger ambitious players that want to play for the best manager in the premiership.
Exactly this, he needs to be pulling the next Van de Ven off the rank for us
I see more Rogers type signings than Coutinho ones.
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If we want year on year progression the summer window is massive given the restrictions.
Simon Jordan reckons this is a moment in time not a changing of the guard.
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If we want year on year progression the summer window is massive given the restrictions.
Simon Jordan reckons this is a moment in time not a changing of the guard.
He may be right but the better we are the more we heap pressure on the 3 or 4 Big6 who are underperforming at a given time.
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I'd like to see upgrades in both full-back positions (right back more of a priority for me as i think cash slows the play down too often), a backup keeper who is comfortable with ball at his feet, defensive midfield cover for kamara and if being greedy another forward player to take a bit of pressure off ollie.
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I don't really see too many players leaving really. Lenglet and Zaniolo will return to their parent clubs. If a taker for Dendoncker, Chambers and Hause can be found then they'll obviously be gone - but it's not as if they've really been part of this season's journey to get us here (cameo from Chambers on Monday aside). Coutinho is obviously going to be out on loan again or paid off, but likewise to the three above.
All the talk of how we need to ship out Cash, Carlos, Digne, Olsen etc and buy a load of replacements just doesn't feel how this summer is going to go. We have a really good squad which needs some upgrades and additional depth (as per your original post), and most importantly the injured players back again.
It doesn't feel like we need to sell four or five players who have played a lot this season and and buy replacements for them in addition to the two or three extra bodies that we need already.
Isn’t that going to be influenced by PSR though (acknowledging it might change)? I’m sure we don’t want to get rid of a key player, but we might need to.
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As a leftfield option they had Lecce - Udinese on the telly last night in the Villa Tavern before the game, and I saw the Udinese centre forward hold up the ball well under pressure, fire a great pass out wide, then get on the end of the subsequent cross with a Benteke-esque leap over the defender forcing the keeper to palm it out for a tap in. Looked the real deal, didn't get his name though.
Hah. Very good.
Similarly, forget Baena, surely this is this the left-footed fella at Villareal, we want? Scored a lovely goal last night (posted on his own thread but it's in ''Other Football'' where traffic is (s)low).
90 seconds in although he also nearly scores with the first piece of action:
It's a yes from me.
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I don't really see too many players leaving really. Lenglet and Zaniolo will return to their parent clubs. If a taker for Dendoncker, Chambers and Hause can be found then they'll obviously be gone - but it's not as if they've really been part of this season's journey to get us here (cameo from Chambers on Monday aside). Coutinho is obviously going to be out on loan again or paid off, but likewise to the three above.
All the talk of how we need to ship out Cash, Carlos, Digne, Olsen etc and buy a load of replacements just doesn't feel how this summer is going to go. We have a really good squad which needs some upgrades and additional depth (as per your original post), and most importantly the injured players back again.
It doesn't feel like we need to sell four or five players who have played a lot this season and and buy replacements for them in addition to the two or three extra bodies that we need already.
This is how I see it.
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If we're looking to strengthen at centre back at all then Raphael Varane is available free this summer. 31 and injury prone so not going to play every week, but as an experienced option? Would come along for the CL football I would think
That’s a bad take, an old, out of form, injury prone expensive player who is no upgrade. It crosses every box.
Agreed, he doesn't have the heart to play anymore. Casemiro is the same. He's only 32 but might aswell be 42. We were already had on Coutinho so I'd say we will be staying clear of those kind of players this season.
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Varane gave up playing for France too because he found the schedule 'suffocating'. You can understand Leon not wanting to waste his time with Jamaica's unprofessional set-up but not wanting to play for the one of the best international teams in the world*, whose set-up is second to none when you are playing for a middling PL club smacks of motivation deficit
*Three-star world champions were it not for the leg of Dibu.
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I don't really see too many players leaving really. Lenglet and Zaniolo will return to their parent clubs. If a taker for Dendoncker, Chambers and Hause can be found then they'll obviously be gone - but it's not as if they've really been part of this season's journey to get us here (cameo from Chambers on Monday aside). Coutinho is obviously going to be out on loan again or paid off, but likewise to the three above.
All the talk of how we need to ship out Cash, Carlos, Digne, Olsen etc and buy a load of replacements just doesn't feel how this summer is going to go. We have a really good squad which needs some upgrades and additional depth (as per your original post), and most importantly the injured players back again.
It doesn't feel like we need to sell four or five players who have played a lot this season and and buy replacements for them in addition to the two or three extra bodies that we need already.
I agree. I'd cash in on Carlos if there were any takers as I just don't think he's worth the capital we have tied up in him and wages. I'd certainly keep Digne, even if it means twisting his arm to sign a more modest contract in return for an extra year. I think Cash will be a decent back up if we do sign a right-back. Otherwise, only fringe players and loanees to be shipped out for me.
I suspect we'll cash in on more kids and some will be tough decisions.
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I don't really see too many players leaving really. Lenglet and Zaniolo will return to their parent clubs. If a taker for Dendoncker, Chambers and Hause can be found then they'll obviously be gone - but it's not as if they've really been part of this season's journey to get us here (cameo from Chambers on Monday aside). Coutinho is obviously going to be out on loan again or paid off, but likewise to the three above.
All the talk of how we need to ship out Cash, Carlos, Digne, Olsen etc and buy a load of replacements just doesn't feel how this summer is going to go. We have a really good squad which needs some upgrades and additional depth (as per your original post), and most importantly the injured players back again.
It doesn't feel like we need to sell four or five players who have played a lot this season and and buy replacements for them in addition to the two or three extra bodies that we need already.
Isn’t that going to be influenced by PSR though (acknowledging it might change)? I’m sure we don’t want to get rid of a key player, but we might need to.
But the sort of money that fixes a PSR problem isn't fixed by savings wages on Digne or Carlos. If we were to sell them, we're then either signing someone worse to replace them or paying more in wages and transfer fees to sign someone better than them than we received / were paying them.
Obviously none of us know for certain what our PSR position is, but it's going to be something like:
(a) Champions League now fixes everything. We still can't go and spend Chelsea 2023 money but we can add to the squad the extra we want without having to worry too much or sell someone important.
(b) Champions League gives us more wriggle room than we had before and without it we'd have had to sell someone important to avoid sanctions. We now don't have sell Watkins or DL, but we still aren't going out and spending anything significant.
(c) if we'd finished fifth then we were screwed and were going to have to sell multiple players to make things work. So even without adding new players and with the extra money, we still have to get rid of some of the squad, either one player for big money or two or three others for less money.
There are obviously different variants of the above, but it's only really the last of those where we're actively trying to move the likes of Digne and Carlos on, surely?
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It’s certainly going to be tricky to navigate the FFP/PSR rules whilst strengthening the squad this summer. Above all else we need to remain competitive at the top end of the PL in order to secure CL qualification again, and keep hoovering up the financial benefits whilst we continue to build. No one expects us to win or get to the latter stages of the CL, so the PL and a decent cup run should be the main focus. As such, I don’t see us releasing many players outside of the obvious (loans and those surplus to requirements) and only bringing in players in certain areas where we have clearly struggled this season due to injuries…so for me, it would be:
GK (I have a feeling we’ll keep Olsen but he should be replaced)
RB (we have to stop playing Konsa there when Cash is out)
CB (sorry but Carlos isn’t good enough so we should accept any decent offer)
DM (cover for Kamara)
CF (cover for Ollie)
Depending on our long term injuries, we may need to bring in a couple more but with them all back then we have reasonable strength in depth and options in most positions.
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Goalkeeper - no changes for me. Sinisalo to be loaned at a higher level.
Martinez/Olsen/Gauci
Right Back - I’d sell Cash and KKH purchase a new first choice then have Nedljkovic as back up.
New signing/Nedljkovic
Left Back - no changes for me but maybe sell Chrisene or loan again.
Digne/Moreno
Centre Back - no changes for me other than sell Hause.
Konsa/Carlos/Mings/Torres/Chambers
Midfield - sign a first choice number 6 to fill in for Kamara. Sign an additional 8 style player to give more depth and competition. Sell Tim I and Dendoncker.
New 6 Signing/Kamara/Luiz/McGinn/Tielemans/New 8 signing
Attacking mids and wingers - no changes here for me. Sell Coutinho.
Diaby/Rogers/Ramsey/Bailey/Buendia
Strikers - Long term decision re Archer required. Sell or keep? If he’s not being kept I’d go all out for Mbeumo from Brentford.
Watkins/Duran/New signing
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Goalkeeper - no changes for me. Sinisalo to be loaned at a higher level.
Martinez/Olsen/Gauci
Right Back - I’d sell Cash and KKH purchase a new first choice then have Nedljkovic as back up.
New signing/Nedljkovic
Left Back - no changes for me but maybe sell Chrisene or loan again.
Digne/Moreno
Centre Back - no changes for me other than sell Hause.
Konsa/Carlos/Mings/Torres/Chambers
Midfield - sign a first choice number 6 to fill in for Kamara. Sign an additional 8 style player to give more depth and competition. Sell Tim I and Dendoncker.
New 6 Signing/Kamara/Luiz/McGinn/Tielemans/New 8 signing
Attacking mids and wingers - no changes here for me. Sell Coutinho.
Diaby/Rogers/Ramsey/Bailey/Buendia
Strikers - Long term decision re Archer required. Sell or keep? If he’s not being kept I’d go all out for Mbeumo from Brentford.
Watkins/Duran/New signing
I like all of this, except to add we also have the young left-back Lino Souza who was at Plymouth for the second half of the season. Like Rogers, he was a WBA academy player (actually played against us in the youth cup semi the year we won it, even though he was only an U16 player at the time), who then got bought by Arsenal at 16, then we took him when his contract was running out, before loaning out to Plymouth. He's still only 19, though. It could be with Chrisene and Sousa coming through as promising left-backs, we can afford to keep both Digne and Moreno as our first-team options for another season in the hope one of these is good enough for the first team squad in a year's time?
I was sure Digne would be off, but given his performances, and the Champs League financial benefits, hopefully we can keep him around next season.
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I don't think competition for Digne/Moreno on the left and Cash on the right should be youth prospects. We're a top four club now, we have to keep improving and the full-back areas are our weakest relative to the rest of the team imo.
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I don't think competition for Digne/Moreno on the left and Cash on the right should be youth prospects. We're a top four club now, we have to keep improving and the full-back areas are our weakest relative to the rest of the team imo.
Chrisene and Sousa are not competition for the left-back position. Not this coming season, anyway. We have two very good left-backs in Digne and Moreno, and if both stay reasonably fit, a 3rd left-back isn't going to get a look in. It was more that in 12 months time, heading into the 25/26 season when Digne and Moreno will both be 32, it might be one of the youngsters will be ready to step up and become a proper squad member. It might also be their both sold and we bring one in.
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I don't think competition for Digne/Moreno on the left and Cash on the right should be youth prospects. We're a top four club now, we have to keep improving and the full-back areas are our weakest relative to the rest of the team imo.
Chrisene and Sousa are not competition for the left-back position. Not this coming season, anyway. We have two very good left-backs in Digne and Moreno, and if both stay reasonably fit, a 3rd left-back isn't going to get a look in. It was more that in 12 months time, heading into the 25/26 season when Digne and Moreno will both be 32, it might be one of the youngsters will be ready to step up and become a proper squad member. It might also be their both sold and we bring one in.
I think digne will be sold because his wages. Unlikely he will kept for that reason alone
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When considering sales and FFP, yes we save wages (but only if a replacement is on less) but unless we sell at above amortised value, we crystallise a loss.
So say Carlos was signed for £26m on a 4 year deal in 2022, his value is now (probably) £13m. So if we sell him for less than that we crystallise a loss which negates the FFP benefit. I dont know what his resale value is but he's 31 and had injury issues.
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We will hopefully have Ramsey, Buendia and Mings back for the start of next season.
Think we will see Coutinho loaned out again, Dendoncker and Chambers sold, Hause released. Archer may be sold again. Would not surprise me is we took a big offer for Luiz, and also would not surprise me if we sold Carlos. Do not see us signing Zaniolo or Lenglet permanently.
Clear priority has to be a decent DM to cover for / compete with Kamara. A right back would be nice, and another centre back that is good enough to compete for a place with Torres, Mings and Konsa.
Think we will see a couple of free transfers, and possiby some lesser known players (like Rogers) come in. Do not think we will be making any statement signings like Grealish (though would welcome him back with open arms if we did).
Key is to get less injuries next season. Easier said than done, but if we have no ACLs or similar season ennding injuries then we will be much stronger.
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I don't think competition for Digne/Moreno on the left and Cash on the right should be youth prospects. We're a top four club now, we have to keep improving and the full-back areas are our weakest relative to the rest of the team imo.
Chrisene and Sousa are not competition for the left-back position. Not this coming season, anyway. We have two very good left-backs in Digne and Moreno, and if both stay reasonably fit, a 3rd left-back isn't going to get a look in. It was more that in 12 months time, heading into the 25/26 season when Digne and Moreno will both be 32, it might be one of the youngsters will be ready to step up and become a proper squad member. It might also be their both sold and we bring one in.
I think digne will be sold because his wages. Unlikely he will kept for that reason alone
Why are we selling our first-choice left-back because of his wages? We're not selling Kamara, Bailey or Watkins because of their wages are we?
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Why are we selling our first-choice left-back because of his wages? We're not selling Kamara, Bailey or Watkins because of their wages are we?
I guess the argument could be that replacing a left back is easier than replacing a 20* goal a season striker.
*hopefully
But I do agree, he's a very good player who seems to fit Emery's style. Anybody as good as Digne isn't going to come cheap, and then you've got the whole settling in thing to do again.
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Digne is a very good player who had a very good player, but he's not been exactly infallible, is the wrong side of 31 and is on wages very disproportionate to his actual value in the squad. It's just one of those tough decisions you might have to take sometimes.
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Digne is a very good player who had a very good player, but he's not been exactly infallible, is the wrong side of 31 and is on wages very disproportionate to his actual value in the squad. It's just one of those tough decisions you might have to take sometimes.
Surely 30 is the right side of 31?!
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Digne is a very good player who had a very good player, but he's not been exactly infallible, is the wrong side of 31 and is on wages very disproportionate to his actual value in the squad. It's just one of those tough decisions you might have to take sometimes.
Surely 30 is the right side of 31?!
a) 31 in a month, but that's less important than b) got it muddled up.
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There's a lot of talk about his wages, but I'm sure several of the squad will have caught up / overtaken his salary and it may not look quite so out of place for a team competing in the CL.
Selling him (undoubtedly for a fairly token amount) just seems to create a problem we don't need for what is likely to be a pretty nominal saving once a replacement is bought in.
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There's a lot of talk about his wages, but I'm sure several of the squad will have caught up / overtaken his salary and it may not look quite so out of place for a team competing in the CL.
Selling him (undoubtedly for a fairly token amount) just seems to create a problem we don't need for what is likely to be a pretty nominal saving once a replacement is bought in.
Indeed.
He's been arguably the best left-back in the league this season (Udogie? Robinson at Fulham maybe?). And sure, if we weren't in the Champions League then his Champions League level wages looked a bit out of place. But we are, so they don't.
And if Moreno had spent all of this season continuing his brilliant Spring '23 form then fine. But he hasn't.
That bit of the squad is absolutely fine, so let's not start taking it apart until we need to.
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I like Digne and wouldn't mind him staying but if we are to move him on then this window is the one to try and get a decent fee back. 31 in a couple of months, 2 years left on his contract, and a reported £120k a week freed up.
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I like Digne and wouldn't mind him staying but if we are to move him on then this window is the one to try and get a decent fee back. 31 in a couple of months, 2 years left on his contract, and a reported £120k a week freed up.
As Chris (I think) said somewhere, the smart move would probably be to try and negotiate a slightly lower wage and a slightly longer contract.
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I like Digne and wouldn't mind him staying but if we are to move him on then this window is the one to try and get a decent fee back. 31 in a couple of months, 2 years left on his contract, and a reported £120k a week freed up.
But if we’re in the Champs League his £120k a week is quite frankly chicken feed and I’m sure some of the others will be on the same or more. I’d say he’s been the most consistent left back in the league this season with only Udogie having a better season.
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And it's not like buying fullbacks is ever something we've excelled at over the last 20 years.
Digne is reliable, pretty resilient in terms of fitness and one of our better players.
Really we just need a song. He loves the phrase 'another one.' Can anyone make anything work with 'Another one bites the dust'
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Another one Lucas Digne!
Another one Lucas Digne!
And another one Digne!
And another one Digne!
Another one Lucas Digne!
You're welcome.
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I'm pointing out why the club may see him as one to move on, as great as the CL is it's not like it gives us endless money to spend to remain sustainable and within PL and UEFA rules.
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Another one Lucas Digne!
Another one Lucas Digne!
And another one Digne!
And another one Digne!
Another one Lucas Digne!
You're welcome.
Yeah, that's where I was at.
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I like Digne and wouldn't mind him staying but if we are to move him on then this window is the one to try and get a decent fee back. 31 in a couple of months, 2 years left on his contract, and a reported £120k a week freed up.
But if we’re in the Champs League his £120k a week is quite frankly chicken feed and I’m sure some of the others will be on the same or more. I’d say he’s been the most consistent left back in the league this season with only Udogie having a better season.
Chicken-feed maybe but our wages to income is only lower than the clubs that have been deducted points or under threat (Everton, Forest, Lesta) so it's still something we need to control.
Coming to an agreement with Coutinho to pay-off some/most of the last two years of his wages is something I assume, we're exploring. He must be our highest earner still.
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I like Digne and wouldn't mind him staying but if we are to move him on then this window is the one to try and get a decent fee back. 31 in a couple of months, 2 years left on his contract, and a reported £120k a week freed up.
But if we’re in the Champs League his £120k a week is quite frankly chicken feed and I’m sure some of the others will be on the same or more. I’d say he’s been the most consistent left back in the league this season with only Udogie having a better season.
Coming to an agreement with Coutinho to pay-off some/most of the last two years of his wages is something I assume, we're exploring. He must be our highest earner still.
Easier said than done. Coutinho, bar a somewhat productive loan spell with us, has been semi retired for years so I can't imagine he is overly keen to restart his career. I expect we will be paying him up nearly in full (which of course he is perfectly entitled to).
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True but if he can get another club in the Middle East or back home in Brazil (maybe the US?) to give him a contract, he might be willing to go if we pay him off the difference in earnings.
The guy is still 31, what a fecking waste.
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I like Digne and wouldn't mind him staying but if we are to move him on then this window is the one to try and get a decent fee back. 31 in a couple of months, 2 years left on his contract, and a reported £120k a week freed up.
As Chris (I think) said somewhere, the smart move would probably be to try and negotiate a slightly lower wage and a slightly longer contract.
That’s a good shout. Between the two we are well covered and we’d have the option to rotate in order to keep their old legs fresh.
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At some point we need to start lowering the average age.
Older players’ value diminishes and they’re typically earning big bucks. Swapping a “carlos” for a 20 year old might be prudent.
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I like Digne and wouldn't mind him staying but if we are to move him on then this window is the one to try and get a decent fee back. 31 in a couple of months, 2 years left on his contract, and a reported £120k a week freed up.
But if we’re in the Champs League his £120k a week is quite frankly chicken feed and I’m sure some of the others will be on the same or more. I’d say he’s been the most consistent left back in the league this season with only Udogie having a better season.
Agree with this. A view seems to have formed on here that he's on MASSIVE wages (à la Rashford or Casemiro) that are out of whack with the rest of the squad's. He's performed well, and seems to be a positive influence behind the scenes, so I'd be inclined to keep him if possible.
Having said that, if things are tight financially, I can see PWS' point that this summer might be the time to get maximum value from moving him on.
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According to ‘sources’ we are targeting a full back that can play both sides, a box to box midfielder and a striker.
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According to ‘sources’ we are targeting a full back that can play both sides, a box to box midfielder and a striker.
cancelo might be a loan option.
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I still think we need a big eff off physical centre half.
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Yeah, his name is Tyrone.
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Yes thanks for that but a) we don’t know how fit and able he’s going to be and b) he’s left sided same as Pau.
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Well I'd call Carlos a big eff off physical centre back too but I'm not sure he's up to the other stuff. So if you wanna sell him and replace with big but better, sure.
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Yes I honestly think we do. Whatever you think of him carragher was doing some really good analysis on our goals conceded the second half of the season and pointed to this as a weakness.
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I thought we became incredibly easy to play against in the last few months. Those basketball style games against Chelsea and Liverpool are a bit of a lottery. It's no wonder as with injuries we were at times playing a 424 with 4 forwards and 2 of McGinn/Luiz/Tielemans. That's about as attacking as it gets. Last season with McGinn and Ramsey on the sides we were a lot more compact, though Bailey and Rogers did get goals. Defensive line went to pot aswell, don't think Torres was properly fit, but I think it's a consequence of how loose we were in midfield and further up.
Looking forward to seeing what tactical tweaks Emery will come up with over the summer.
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Of all the injury curveballs we had to deal with over the course of the season it was Kamara’s loss we struggled with the most as we’ve got nobody else who can do exactly what he does. Priority one for me would be another option there.
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Kamara is a rare type of player. A sort of centre back - midfielder hybrid. He reminds me of Baresi or Bergomi (and if he turns out to be that good…). He’d be hard to replace.
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I thought we became incredibly easy to play against in the last few months. Those basketball style games against Chelsea and Liverpool are a bit of a lottery. It's no wonder as with injuries we were at times playing a 424 with 4 forwards and 2 of McGinn/Luiz/Tielemans. That's about as attacking as it gets. Last season with McGinn and Ramsey on the sides we were a lot more compact, though Bailey and Rogers did get goals. Defensive line went to pot aswell, don't think Torres was properly fit, but I think it's a consequence of how loose we were in midfield and further up.
Looking forward to seeing what tactical tweaks Emery will come up with over the summer.
I agree we seem to have conceded a lot of goals in the second half of the season but then you look at the table and only the teams above us, and Everton, have conceded fewer. All teams seem to be finding defending harder, and the number of goals per game is going up, but do think Kamara was the single biggest loss for Emery as he has had to move more than one player around to around to try and cover.
It does feel like the next stage of our evolution is to give ourselves more options defensively without compromising our attacking threat, which I think is the best I have seen since the Gray, Little, Deehan team of 76/77.
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One out already. Best of luck morgan
You had me worried for the ten seconds I thought something had happened to Rogers.
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Something that will impact our ability to spend, and what I think SUE was referring to when talking about sorting out fair play first, is our proposal to increase permitted losses by £30m for the last year of PSR, which will be subject to a vote at the PL AGM in early June.
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Newcastle unsurprisingly support us in this. But it makes sense given how dramatically inflation has increased, to keep it at the same level is daft. It should be indexed for automatic increase year on year.
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Newcastle unsurprisingly support us in this. But it makes sense given how dramatically inflation has increased, to keep it at the same level is daft. It should be indexed for automatic increase year on year.
Much as it pains me to be on the same side as Newcastle regarding anything, the current limits are hopelessly out of date.
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I think I'm in the minority here, but I don't think they should alter the allowable losses based on inflation.
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Newcastle unsurprisingly support us in this. But it makes sense given how dramatically inflation has increased, to keep it at the same level is daft. It should be indexed for automatic increase year on year.
Much as it pains me to be on the same side as Newcastle regarding anything, the current limits are hopelessly out of date.
Same here.
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I think I'm in the minority here, but I don't think they should alter the allowable losses based on inflation.
Me either.
I actually want to see Villa, and other clubs live within their means. If the leash gets loosened each year it never improves.
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I thought we became incredibly easy to play against in the last few months. Those basketball style games against Chelsea and Liverpool are a bit of a lottery. It's no wonder as with injuries we were at times playing a 424 with 4 forwards and 2 of McGinn/Luiz/Tielemans. That's about as attacking as it gets. Last season with McGinn and Ramsey on the sides we were a lot more compact, though Bailey and Rogers did get goals. Defensive line went to pot aswell, don't think Torres was properly fit, but I think it's a consequence of how loose we were in midfield and further up.
Looking forward to seeing what tactical tweaks Emery will come up with over the summer.
I agree we seem to have conceded a lot of goals in the second half of the season but then you look at the table and only the teams above us, and Everton, have conceded fewer. All teams seem to be finding defending harder, and the number of goals per game is going up, but do think Kamara was the single biggest loss for Emery as he has had to move more than one player around to around to try and cover.
It does feel like the next stage of our evolution is to give ourselves more options defensively without compromising our attacking threat, which I think is the best I have seen since the Gray, Little, Deehan team of 76/77.
I do think Kamara's injury has played a part, along with the fact that we've not really been able to field a settled back four too often in the second half of the season. Some work in pre-season and hopefully better luck with injuries next season should see improvement.
The other thing I think we need to improve on to make us that bit harder to break down is keeping the ball a bit better, particularly away from home. We've had a few who have given the ball away a bit too cheaply a bit too often in games and it has invited pressure on us.
We are in a position Arsenal.were a couple of seasons ago and I think those were areas that they improved on and it allowed them to take that next step.
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Newcastle unsurprisingly support us in this. But it makes sense given how dramatically inflation has increased, to keep it at the same level is daft. It should be indexed for automatic increase year on year.
Yep absolutely. If you’re comfortable with clubs having losses, that figure has to realistic against the wider economic climate at the time.