Summer Transfer Thread: Speculation, Lies, Absolute Cr*p and Bosman Rumours

[VILLA MOLE]

Alan Hutton in talks with Stoke...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2181768/Alan-Hutton-talks-Stoke-Aston-Villa.html

please please please please please please

[tomd2103]

Even in the madness of modern day British transfer fee's I think £2m for Collins is about rite, he's just not very good at all. Westham will be fine with any team that goes route 1 but are going to be in real trouble against any technical forwards with Collins and Tomkins at the back.

I also think we need to factor in the wages that Collins is earning.  The fee might need to drop a bit so the buying club can afford to effectively take over his wages.  I reckon that Collins is on almost 2m a year.

Also read that Hutton is in talks with Stoke.  That will be another decent earner off the wage bill if it goes through and would probably clear room for a LB to be brought in.   

[Percy McCarthy]

God, how dirty can one team hope to be? No wonder we're having a job getting insurance.

[Toronto Villa]

Alan Hutton in talks with Stoke...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2181768/Alan-Hutton-talks-Stoke-Aston-Villa.html

Sweet Jebus, let this be true. If Faulkner can get 2m for that pile of bollocks he deserves a Knighthood

[The Left Side]

Stoke + Hutton = match made in heaven

[john e]

I month ago I put money on Stoke getting relegated with betfair,
 if Hutton joins them I might put a bit more on

[luke25]

Hutton and Collins within 24 hours of each other? Oh yes.

[luke25]

If it goes through then Alan Hutton would have had £16m spent on him in 4 years.

[VillaAlways]

I month ago I put money on Stoke getting relegated with betfair,
 if Hutton joins them I might put a bit more on

Yep,I agree I think Stoke are strong candidates for the drop this season

[Ian.]

Hutton and Collins within 24 hours of each other? Oh yes.

That would be a successful summer transfer window.

[VillaAlways]

From the Telegraph


By John PercyLast Updated: 8:55PM BST 31/07/2012
Paul Lambert has agreed to sell James Collins to West Ham United in a £2.5 million deal and is also prepared to offload Alan Hutton and Stephen Warnock.

Collins, the Wales defender, will complete his return to West Ham on Wednesday after Aston Villa decided to move his £40,000 a week wages off the books. The 28 year-old could have left on a free transfer next summer but Lambert wants the cash to raise funds for his own transfers.

Collins will be Sam Allardyce’s seventh signing this summer and returns to Upton Park after three years at Villa.

Villa are poised to confirm the £3.2 million signing of Ron Vlaar from Feyenoord after the Holland defender passed a medical at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground. Vlaar will be Lambert’s third signing since his appointment last month, with a striker, another centre-half and a left-back also priorities for the former Norwich manager.

Randy Lerner, Villa’s chairman, has told Lambert he can spend whatever money he generates from sales.

Scotland player Hutton remained at home when Villa visited the United States for their pre-season tour and can leave for a cut-price fee. Stoke City could be a potential destination for the 27 year-old, who struggled last season under Alex McLeish following a £3 million move from Tottenham Hotspur in August.

Warnock, who was in the England World Cup squad two years ago, will also be allowed to leave. Lambert has already targeted a replacement by making an inquiry for Aaron Cresswell, the Ipswich Town defender, last week. Warnock’s £45,000 a week wages could prove prohibitive to other clubs, so Villa are likely to accept a loan move for the 30 year-old.

Villa’s wage bill, which McLeish admitted had gone “haywire”, has been significantly lowered since the end of last season, with big earners Emile Heskey and Carlos Cuellar both leaving after their contracts expired. The departures of Hutton and Warnock will allow Lambert more freedom in the transfer market.

Lambert established a reputation at Norwich for signing young talent from the lower leagues and is determined to build a dynamic squad to galvanise Villa following McLeish’s troubled reign.

Darren Bent is crucial to Lambert’s future plans and the England player could even be named as club captain in the next few days.

Villa start their Premier League season with a trip to West Ham on Aug 18.

[Ian.]

I have complete faith in PL selling Collins, Hutton and Warnock on and replacing them with better players and with more appetite to play and also on less money. I'm also convinced he even knows who he wants to replace them first. I don't seem to have any air of panic or doubt about the dealings on this window.

[Dante Lavelli]

Reading that Telegraph piece, it does make me realise that next season will very much be a season of transition again.  I like what Lambert is doing but we as fans need to be realistic that it is not likely to click straight away.

At least it’ll be better to watch.

[john e]

if Lambert gets rid of Warnock, Collins, Hutton and maybe Dunne
he will have exceeded my estimations by about a million percent

[JUAN PABLO]

I love PL