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

[Risso]

... Add to that the promises made to our top players about bringing in quality.

What promises made by whom?

Edens to the likes of McGinn.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

... Add to that the promises made to our top players about bringing in quality.

What promises made by whom?

SJM spoke about it earlier this week.

[KevinGage]

I actually think we'll be fine striker-wise by the close of the window.

It'll either be one of the recent links (Watkins, Edouard, Origi) or a pleasant surprise. Even better if we finally  see movement on that this week. Smith has also mentioned pace in a wide areas as a priority and I expect at least one incoming there.

My concern is we don't seem to be linked to any centre halves or central midfielders. They were both areas where we looked short of top flight nous last season and I hope Smudger isn't content with his current centre back options.

Get L-Cheek in!!

Aye.  Or Nathaniel Chalobah at Watford. Premier League experience but still young and plenty to work with.

Tarkowski at Burnley is one we should be looking at as well. If Leicester are genuinely in for him and he wants to go there fair enough, you understand. West Ham less so. Leicester look a better short term bet for success after last season. Not sure of he'll be guaranteed to start ahead of the Turkish lad and Jonny Evans though.

At the reported £20 million for an England centre half that's great value in the current market and I'd hope we've at least enquired.

[Lastfootstamper]

... Add to that the promises made to our top players about bringing in quality.

What promises made by whom?

SJM spoke about it earlier this week.

Where was this, an interview or something?

[hilts_coolerking]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirmingham/wes-edens-made-this-transfer-promise-to-aston-villas-players/ar-BB18xFGw

[frank black]

I actually think we'll be fine striker-wise by the close of the window.

It'll either be one of the recent links (Watkins, Edouard, Origi) or a pleasant surprise. Even better if we finally  see movement on that this week. Smith has also mentioned pace in a wide areas as a priority and I expect at least one incoming there.

My concern is we don't seem to be linked to any centre halves or central midfielders. They were both areas where we looked short of top flight nous last season and I hope Smudger isn't content with his current centre back options.

Get L-Cheek in!!

Aye.  Or Nathaniel Chalobah at Watford. Premier League experience but still young and plenty to work with.

Tarkowski at Burnley is one we should be looking at as well. If Leicester are genuinely in for him and he wants to go there fair enough, you understand. West Ham less so. Leicester look a better short term bet for success after last season. Not sure of he'll be guaranteed to start ahead of the Turkish lad and Jonny Evans though.

At the reported £20 million for an England centre half that's great value in the current market and I'd hope we've at least enquired.

£30 mil plus I suspect

[paul_e]

I actually think we'll be fine striker-wise by the close of the window.

It'll either be one of the recent links (Watkins, Edouard, Origi) or a pleasant surprise. Even better if we finally  see movement on that this week. Smith has also mentioned pace in a wide areas as a priority and I expect at least one incoming there.

My concern is we don't seem to be linked to any centre halves or central midfielders. They were both areas where we looked short of top flight nous last season and I hope Smudger isn't content with his current centre back options.

Get L-Cheek in!!

Aye.  Or Nathaniel Chalobah at Watford. Premier League experience but still young and plenty to work with.

Tarkowski at Burnley is one we should be looking at as well. If Leicester are genuinely in for him and he wants to go there fair enough, you understand. West Ham less so. Leicester look a better short term bet for success after last season. Not sure of he'll be guaranteed to start ahead of the Turkish lad and Jonny Evans though.

At the reported £20 million for an England centre half that's great value in the current market and I'd hope we've at least enquired.

I'd take Chalobah, I think he'd fit in well. I don't think L-Cheek will be available from what's being said, I think he, like Tammy, sees this as a make or break season with Chelsea and wants to try to force his way in.

Tarkowski would be decent but I don't see centre half as a priority. We conceded a lot last year so blaming defenders is understandable but I think it was a fault of the entire team and when Smith used the break to address it we turned into one of the better defences in the league after the restart. I'd be happy to let them set of defenders we have see if they can maintain that other than possibly replacing Taylor for someone with a bit more going forward if we've got money spare after the important signings.

Chalobah, Watkins and then a big splurge on an attacking player who could be a bit special (Marcus Thuram is still my dream signing this summer) or a winger with a bit of magic (Rashica fits) would work for me.

[ozzjim]

Not sure just Watkins will be enough up top. Depends how long Wesley will be, but I doubt he is starting games before Christmas.

[sickbeggar]

see wolves have made a strange signing for 2m. looking at his apps im guessing he's been crocked a lot


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54051288

[rougegorge]

I really hope we are not relying on Wesley this season.

Even allowing for the fickleness of fans, at the end of December he had barely any support, then he had a decent hour or so at Burnley and during his time out he has seemingly improved by not playing. 

I hope he gets back to full fitness and pushes on,  but that injury certainly won't have worked in his favour.

Wilson would have been an upgrade on our current forward line and I am 50/50 on Watkins. It was Benrahma that made Brentford tick last season, so if we could get both, it may work.

[ChicagoLion]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirmingham/wes-edens-made-this-transfer-promise-to-aston-villas-players/ar-BB18xFGw

pretty unequivocal

[paul_e]

I really hope we are not relying on Wesley this season.

Even allowing for the fickleness of fans, at the end of December he had barely any support, then he had a decent hour or so at Burnley and during his time out he has seemingly improved by not playing. 

I hope he gets back to full fitness and pushes on,  but that injury certainly won't have worked in his favour.

Wilson would have been an upgrade on our current forward line and I am 50/50 on Watkins. It was Benrahma that made Brentford tick last season, so if we could get both, it may work.

Bold bit, no he hasn't, there were plenty of people who didn't think he was anything like as bad as some posters were making out and we still have that opinion now. I've said all along that I think he'd have scored 10-12 goals for the season if he'd finished it and that would be a decent return given how isolated he was at times. The worst part of his game was that he was being pushed off the ball too easily and then sulking to the ref instead of getting on with it, I think we'd started to see that going out of his game by the time he was injured and in the Burnley game in particular Mee took the chance to take him out because he'd bullied them all game until then. How he comes back from injury will be important but, for me, he's not get better by not playing and I haven't forgotten anything about how he played.

On the Benrahma/Watkins thing I see more potential to adapt to the premier league in Watkins than I do in Benrahma. I suspect the latter will end up in the premier league and will show flashes of quality but nothing more. I think Watkins on the other hand could turn into a very good player with the right coaching and a bit of luck.

[villa `cross the mersey]

We are led to believe the current owners are extremely ambitious and we must allow them time to prove this - ie the end of the transfer window
I am however, totally underwhelmed thus far (ie from the end of the season to now). You would like to think the close call last  season has focused minds .......I get the feeling that retaining Grealish, Mings and McGinn will be seen as some kind of achievement

[Lastfootstamper]

“He said they’d support us with new players and improve the depth of the squad to kick on." All of which I have no doubt we're trying our utmost to make happen, but I can't imagine any owner of any club not saying they'd be doing that. I don't think those words are tantamount to telling our better players we'd be signing global superstars to prevent them from putting in transfer requests, which is what I inferred earlier.

[Clampy]

We are led to believe the current owners are extremely ambitious and we must allow them time to prove this - ie the end of the transfer window
I am however, totally underwhelmed thus far (ie from the end of the season to now). You would like to think the close call last  season has focused minds .......I get the feeling that retaining Grealish, Mings and McGinn will be seen as some kind of achievement

We stayed up, so of course keeping those players is a bonus. Does everything have to sound so grim?