The January New Manager Warchest Transfer Thread

[nigel]

Andy Brassell (European football expert apparently) on Talkshite not exactly singing Bentancur’s praises. Says not really kicked on since been highly rated at 21. Reckons we should stick with what we’ve got. Obviously hasn’t watched us very much.

I don't ordinarily follow the stats sites, but I found this earlier when trying to find out more about Boubacar Kamara, this venn diagram came up with interesting names in the middle......was compiled in May last year admittedly.

Going by that Bentancur is certainly worth a go.

[eamonn]

Phil thingy, the Beeb's online football editor, has reported on our interest in Bentancur so it looks like we're trying to make it happen.

[VILLA MOLE]

Andy Brassell (European football expert apparently) on Talkshite not exactly singing Bentancur’s praises. Says not really kicked on since been highly rated at 21. Reckons we should stick with what we’ve got. Obviously hasn’t watched us very much.

Andy Brassell's watched pretty much every football match that has ever happened.

Is that Sarcasm or is he on this stuff ?

Not at all. I can't think of anyone who knows more about football than him.

cheers ,sorry wasn’t sure

[paul_e]

I like Bentancur, at his best he's great at nipping in to take the ball off a players toes and then carry it forward but from what I can make out he's been off his game so far this year so we'd need to get him back on form quickly, he's the right profile of signing for me though.

[algy]

I like how our ‘difficult’ winter transfer window seems to be the one where we try to relieve Barcelona & Juventus of some half-decent players.  Bodes well.

[Toronto Villa]

I see Man City are being linked with the South American or Argentinian Gary Shaw. Or whatever Vickers said

[eamonn]

Yes, someone reported it on the last page. He'll join the two Emis here once he grows tired of lack of gametime.

[Scott Nielsen]

Andy Brassell (European football expert apparently) on Talkshite not exactly singing Bentancur’s praises. Says not really kicked on since been highly rated at 21. Reckons we should stick with what we’ve got. Obviously hasn’t watched us very much.

Andy Brassell's watched pretty much every football match that has ever happened.

Is that Sarcasm or is he on this stuff ?

Not at all. I can't think of anyone who knows more about football than him.

Which is a bit concerning. Then again, a player that's been a staple in Juve's first eleven for five seasons ought to be quite good by most standards. Surely?

[Dave]

Andy Brassell (European football expert apparently) on Talkshite not exactly singing Bentancur’s praises. Says not really kicked on since been highly rated at 21. Reckons we should stick with what we’ve got. Obviously hasn’t watched us very much.

Andy Brassell's watched pretty much every football match that has ever happened.

Is that Sarcasm or is he on this stuff ?

Not at all. I can't think of anyone who knows more about football than him.

Which is a bit concerning. Then again, a player that's been a staple in Juve's first eleven for five seasons ought to be quite good by most standards. Surely?

You'd think. And there is a difference between "not as good at 24 as Juventus hoped he would be when he was 19" and "not good enough to play for Villa". I guess it just feels a bit like an extra body, rather than somebody to come in an immediately be obviously better than what we already have.

[Holy Trinity]

In 3 seasons from signing Swansea flops to debating the validity of signing a Juventus starter!

Oh the happy days are here again

[john e]

the more playmaking Mids the better for me
i dont know anything about him, but from what i've read he does seem very similar to what we have already especially Doug

not that i'm bothered i like Doug and all are other Mids as well as it goes

[eamonn]

The latest from Gregg Evans at The Athletic:

Villa’s move for Juventus’ Bentancur – the scouting trip, the clause, the plan

TURIN, ITALY - JANUARY 25:
By Gregg Evans 6h ago 20
Ambitious Aston Villa are attempting to bring Rodrigo Bentancur of Juventus to England but the complexities of the deal are making it difficult.

Steven Gerrard has highlighted the defensive midfield position as his priority, alongside another centre-back, in this final week of this month’s transfer window.

Brighton’s Mali international Yves Bissouma was previously considered but his hefty price tag of £40 million-plus has forced Villa to look elsewhere. Bentancur, a 24-year-old with 45 Uruguay caps to his name already, was scouted in person by a member of the recruitment team against AC Milan this weekend and is now understood to be the top target.

Villa are yet to lodge a formal bid though and are also aware that a number of issues — including a hefty sell-on clause in his contract — may thwart their chances of bringing him in. Boca Juniors, the Argentinian side Juventus paid €9.5 million to sign Bentancur from in the summer of 2017, negotiated a deal where they will also receive 50 per cent of any future transfer fee.

Juventus have been working on reducing that figure over the past few years but a sizeable percentage still remains in place. Selling him now would make little sense of them financially, especially if Villa are looking for a cut-price deal. But now that Juventus are preparing a €70 million offer for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic, they may have to make a sacrifice.

Head coach Massimiliano Allegri is a big admirer of Bentancur, as he possesses different qualities to fellow midfielders Arthur Melo and Aaron Ramsey, the latter of whom is available for transfer from the Turin club this month.

Bentancur has the ability to protect the back four effectively due to the hard yards he puts in. Allegri sees him as more a reliable option than Arthur and more durable than Wales and former Arsenal star Ramsey. He doesn’t want to lose him in this window, either, especially if a replacement cannot be sourced.

Bentancur, a three-time Serie A title winner with Juventus, has occasionally had grief from their supporters, who complain that he can’t dictate the tempo as well as others have for the club over the years. He has been criticised for not being the answer to issues with Juventus’ build-up play, which still misses a player in the mould of Andrea Pirlo or Miralem Pjanic.

Yet with Villa in attendance at San Siro on Sunday to scout the South American in person, he was again one of Juventus’ better performers in a drab 0-0 draw. Bentancur led his team in open-play passes with 66 at a completion rate of 93 per cent and, as usual, brought hustle off the ball before being substituted with a minute of normal time to go.

He’s valued by manager Allegri for his engine. No one on the pitch matched Bentancur’s 29 pressures and both Gerrard and his assistant Gary McAllister have discussed why he is the right fit for Villa.

For weeks now, Villa have been playing with Douglas Luiz in defensive midfield, despite his preference for a more advanced role. Since Marvelous Nakamba sustained a knee injury shortly before Christmas that the club projected would keep him out for up to four months, Gerrard has been light in that department and turned to Luiz for help.

When the Premier League returns next month after its current short break, Gerrard wants both John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey to be more attack-minded, but also to shore things up with a proper defensive midfielder behind them.

Morgan Sanson isn’t a specialist in this area and while Luiz has done an admirable job for now, Villa see him competing with McGinn and Ramsey for one of the other midfield spots. Villa are, therefore, hopeful of concluding a deal, but recognise that there’s still a lot to piece together before Monday night’s 11pm GMT deadline.

While the loan signing of Brazil attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona and the capture of Everton’s France elft-back Lucas Digne were both eye-catching, they were also arranged with the full blessing of the other club.

Barcelona needed to get Coutinho’s salary from their books in order to register Ferran Torres, the forward they’d bought from Manchester City, while Digne was moved on after a public fall-out with then-Everton manager Rafa Benitez.

Villa flexed their muscles and stumped up the cash to get both players in, but landing Bentancur is a different story. He’s a regular for Juventus, is liked and trusted by Allegri, the manager who signed him for the club during his first spell in charge, and is understood to be happy in Italy, where he has played Champions League football every season since his move from Boca Juniors.

With all that in mind, his signing would be the biggest surprise of the window and a real statement from Villa, who have their eyes on a top-eight finish.

Bringing in another centre-back is also on the wish list this week.

Villa are looking for someone with top-flight experience to compete with Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause for the two starting roles.

[PaulTheVillan]

Juventus fans sulking because he's not Pirlo.

[sid1964]

On the BBC football rumours page - we are trying to get Joe Gomes from Liverpool

We need a top class centre half if we are going to get into the top 6 next season (not sure if Joe is the answer?)

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Yet with Villa in attendance at San Siro on Sunday to scout the South American in person, he was again one of Juventus’ better performers in a drab 0-0 draw. Bentancur led his team in open-play passes with 66 at a completion rate of 93 per cent and, as usual, brought hustle off the ball before being substituted with a minute of normal time to go.

Didn't a few on here watch the Juventus game on Sunday and say he was near invisible for 89 minutes?