Summer transfer, gossip, speculation and the usual butter ollocks thread

[Holy Trinity]

Wonder if Samatta fancies a spell in Scotland as a make weight. He'd score loads up there, and could save us £10m. Not that I'm a big fan of Eduoard. Think I would sooner have Batshuayi to be honest.

I think Eduoard is a fantastic player and will go on to have a career and a half similar to a herrick larsson where he seemed to scored goals wherever he went.
The problem is the footballing world will be watching him and the second we have a bid accepted i expect everyone outside of the top 4 in the prem will start sniffing around him too. Not to mention France with Lyon, Lille, Monaco etc all likely destinations too.
I know the pull of the prem is great and he is now cup tied for the champions league due to playing and scoring in the qualifying rounds the other night but for a Spurs or a Leicester, Atalanta, or Lazio he would still be viable.

So whilst I will be excited if we have a bid accepted I dont know how realistic we will be to get him IF others come sniffing around.

[Mister E]

Rashica is not likely to come to us.
Barkley always seems to be subbed or a bench-starter (even at Everton he was very in and out).
Eduoard: isn't the Scottish premiership rather similar to the Dutch 2nd tier or the Belgian league. Would he really cut it in the EPL?
Abraham: my Chelsea-supporting mates equally question his striker-instinctiveness.

Wow, that's a negative post .... :-)

[Clampy]

It's amazing that a 22 year old striker who has already scored 68 professional league goals, scored in the Champions League and for his country at every level is being criticised for his ' striker instinctiveness'.

[N'ZMAV]

It's amazing that a 22 year old striker who has already scored 68 professional league goals, scored in the Champions League and for his country at every level is being criticised for his ' striker instinctiveness'.

Wesley?

[baddowvillans]

A pal of mine supports Chelski and he says that the fans don't rate Tammy Abraham at all.

"Never in the right place at the right time"  and "Misses more than he scores". Also said Giroud was a far superior player as an all round CF.

My vote now goes to Edouard for similar money. Better all round skills.

I'm not sure what Chelsea fans think really matters. We've seen first hand what he can do

To be honest I think that summary by Chelsea fans is spot on.  He did miss as many if not more than he scored but as long as he scored as he did for us that might just be enough.  Compare that to David and Samatta who just miss full stop

[Stu]

Alan Nixon just tweeted that Villa are going to spend a lot of money, want Edouard badly, very much want Watkins and will spend big to put off rivals.

[Ads]

Beat me two it Stu. Looks like we are perhaps taking advantage of some uncertainty in the market given COVID will limit revenue for at least the next season.

[Mister E]

Alan Nixon just tweeted that Villa are going to spend a lot of money, want Edouard badly, very much want Watkins and will spend big to put off rivals.

I think Watkins - playing either through the middle or wide of another striker - will prove to be a great signing...

... even if unproven at this level.

[CT]

Alan Nixon just tweeted that Villa are going to spend a lot of money, want Edouard badly, very much want Watkins and will spend big to put off rivals.

I think Watkins - playing either through the middle or wide of another striker - will prove to be a great signing...

... even if unproven at this level.

Agreed. Will be nice to have some genuine pace up there.

[Dave]

It's amazing that a 22 year old striker who has already scored 68 professional league goals, scored in the Champions League and for his country at every level is being criticised for his ' striker instinctiveness'.

And without having a particular dog in this fight, I'd guess that the same information would broadly have been the case with a 22 year old Emile Heskey.

[paul_e]

Rashica, Edouard and Watkins would be enough attacking players for me, would just want to add a midfielder then.

[Russ aka Big Nose]

I've only watched Edouard a couple of times in recent weeks (since we were first linked) so I would trust the professional scouting of the club, but I wasn't blown away with him.

A bit like strikers that score loads in the Championship but not in the PL, unless you are at a top side, you have to be able to convert a high proportion of chances as you are only likely to get one or two a game.

Celtic dominate every game and create loads of chances (yesterday 64% possession and 23 shots) so I think it would still be something of a punt - he might do brilliantly but it is far from certain.

I think it would also signal that Dean Smith is giving up on Wesley or Samatta and I think it is too early to do that with either.

In terms of our attacking threat, the absolute essential for me is pace and more of an end product from wide players on both sides.

I would upgrade AEG and Trezeguet before buying a central striker, unless Wesley is way off being fit. Especially if that wide attacker could also play centrally, like Watkins.

I think it is unlikely, but I would love to see Tammy back at the Villa, though played as a wide attacker running at defenders and sometimes rotating with the central striker or opposite forward. He claims it is his favourite and best position.

[Russ aka Big Nose]

FWIW Samatta has as many Champions League goals as Edouard and he scored loads in a league rated as being inferior to the PL (like the Scottish Premiership).

Given they are  very unlikely to play in the same side, I'm not convinced that binning Samatta and spending £30m plus on the Celtic lad is a priority. Recruiting players that will mean we create more chances absolutely is - notwithstanding the chances created by Grealish. UTV.

[Percy McCarthy]

I think it is unlikely, but I would love to see Tammy back at the Villa, though played as a wide attacker running at defenders and sometimes rotating with the central striker or opposite forward. He claims it is his favourite and best position.

Yes, I remember he said that, and when it was backed up by that incredible cross he put in for Grealish’s header against Forest.

[ozzjim]

Tammy was great, and got chances other players didn't at times because of a willingness to just keep running into the positions. Great attitude too. I just can't see Chelsea selling in a hurry, at 25-26 he will be a really decent player.

Eduoard I agree with others, looks a punt to me. He might kick on but I would not be certain.

For me, Watkins is actually more exciting, has pace, great attitude, can play wide and puts himself about up there, and could be a good alternative to Wesley when the big man is fit again.

Samatta struggled with us changing the way we played, and that goes on to the other issue rightly pointed out Russ. We should be signing 2 top drawer, pacey wingers this summer. Rashica looks the right type, and IMO Benrahma or Buendia with him would be great. It means you can move Jack around from the left if you want to at home, it means you have pace to break, and you can still play the more rigid style we played post lockdown. To supplement that you then need a second McGinn in the middle, with the ability to hound, press, chase for 90 minutes, AND get in the box and get the odd goal. For me, Rashica, Benrahma, Buendia, McKennie types are more important than buying another striker. Watkins having the ability to cover across the front and still score goals makes him ideal.

It will be interesting what we do end up spending. The papers all say around £100m. I think it will be closer to £150m if we are serious about being well away from the bottom 3 next season.