The January New Manager Warchest Transfer Thread

[sickbeggar]

5 days now...…. 

[Risso]

Sorry not skint.  Wrong word.  But sell to buy.  Closer to FFP and the desire to become self sufficient.

Not at all! The entire jack fee gets posted in one years books as a whole. We could have spent another £80m in the summer and been fine on ffp.

Well sort of. We do get the Grealish profit all at once, but then the cost of Buendia, Bailey and Ings get amortised over the next three or four years, so that has to be taken into consideration.

[kippaxvilla2]

If you listen to Purslow's interview before Christmas if memory serves he is very coy about January incomings.  Don't forget the sky's the limit and all that. I am sure there will be some coming in.  But I am not holding my breath about that holder being a Bissouma type.

[eamonn]

The Athletic's take on our likely January business:

Sensible Transfers – Aston Villa: Liverpool defenders, Hickey and Wijndal at full-back and defensive midfield improvements


By Gregg Evans and Mark Carey

During January, The Athletic will be running a piece for each of the clubs we cover looking at which positions they need to strengthen and using insight from our reporters and data from our analytics team to consider players who might fit the bill.

Next up in this Sensible Transfers series are Aston Villa, a club gearing up for a busy window with targets at centre-back, full-back and midfield all under consideration.

Aston Villa’s club motto is to be “Prepared” and rest assured, co-owners Nassef Sawiris, Wes Edens and CEO Christian Purslow have a plan in place for the weeks ahead.

This is the fourth winter window under NSWE’s watch, and every year — admittedly to contrasting fortunes — the money men have dug into their reserve to give the head coach an increased chance of success.

It was in 2019 when the loan signings of Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause proved invaluable in Villa’s push for promotion. The following year wasn’t as straightforward. When then-record signing Wesley suffered a serious knee injury and John McGinn broke his ankle shortly into the new year, Villa struggled to get in like-for-like replacements.

Mbwana Samatta and Borja Baston were the only forwards willing to join a relegation-threatened Villa back then, while Danny Drinkwater was also chosen over Steven Nzonzi and we all know what happened next.

Still, somehow, Villa survived in the Premier League and decided to get the bulk of their business done early in the following summer months. Morgan Sanson was the only player signed in the last January window because Villa felt they were getting a better value-for-money deal than if he moved at a later stage.

This year, though, there are clear deficiencies in certain areas of the squad which need addressing midway through the season.

As Axel Tuanzebe has cut his loan spell at the club short to return to Manchester United — and likely soon to be onto Napoli — Villa are looking for a new centre-back.

Sil Swinkels, 17, and Lamare Bogarde, 17, are both available for selection after returning home from Holland this week. It means that 16-year-old Josh Feeney, the England Under-17 captain who was named on the substitutes’ bench in the 2-1 defeat by Brentford, is no longer the only back-up defender on standby should Villa lose any of the senior defenders again this month.

Yet, clearly, it’s still an area that needs bulking up, so who would help fill the void?

Several options have already been linked with a move to Villa Park and of the possible candidates, Liverpool’s Joe Gomez is admired and would be a good fit.

But that’s where it gets a little frustrating, Villa fans — let’s look at why he’s on the radar.

In Liverpool’s 2019-20 title-winning season, Gomez formed a strong partnership with Virgil van Dijk. Since then, injuries have thwarted his progress and he’s slipped down the pecking order.

You can see in the smarterscout pizza chart below (here’s a full explanation of how we use smarterscout graphics at The Athletic) just how defensively strong he was in 2019-20.

He’s highly effective in stopping the opponent from progressing further upfield (reflected in his “defending impact” rating of 71 out of 99)

Given his pace, he can get into good positions to jump out to pick up loose balls and block passes (ball recoveries and interceptions 96 out of 99), and make plenty of recovery runs which appears to be an area of weakness of late at Villa as they’ve had trouble defending balls played in behind.

Gomez is the type of player who will step in rather than dive into challenges. He would also strengthen a defensive department that is relying on Kortney Hause as the only senior cover. But let’s not get carried away, here, and swiftly return back to the unfinished point.

Liverpool aren’t prepared to let him leave in this window so it’s a no-go, unfortunately. Perhaps there’s a stronger chance for Villa to get him in the summer if they’re still looking to recruit.

Another Englishman who will be allowed to leave Anfield, however, is Nat Phillips.

Jurgen Klopp said in December: “We cannot keep him forever, that’s clear,” so moving him on for the right money is appealing.

He would fit into the Sensible Transfers bracket, largely because he’s still only 24 years old, has the potential to increase in value, and may also be easier to persuade than a regular Premier League performer who might be put off by the challenge of dislodging either captain, Mings or Konsa.

Phillips is recognised as an out-and-out defender. He gets tight to his opponents regularly (defending intensity 87 out of 99), will head anything that moves (aerial quantity 99 out of 99) and can provide chaos at set pieces, which is a quality Villa are known to be looking for in their recruitment search.

Also, what often goes unnoticed is his passing ability. Phillips largely keeps it simple (link-up play volume 68 out of 99), but he looks after possession well (ball retention ability 59 out of 99) and isn’t given enough credit for how neat and tidy he often is.

Another alternative Villa could consider is Lloyd Kelly at Bournemouth.

He’s a player who stylistically keeps his position and marks the space, typically only making a defensive action when forced into it, as highlighted in the graphic below.

Kelly is also a frequent ball-carrier who drives out of defence (carry and dribble volume 99 out of 99) and plays it simple when he does release it (link-up play volume 89 out of 99), and Villa boss Steven Gerrard has made no secret of his desire to play out from the back and sustain longer spells of possession.

That Kelly could provide competition at left-back, a position where he has played for both Bournemouth and former side, Bristol City, would also benefit Villa as they are in the market for additional full-backs, too.

With Ashley Young out injured, there is currently no back-up on the left or right side.

Assuming that Frederic Guilbert stays at Strasbourg on loan for the season — there has been no suggestion that he’s returning to Villa — it’s likely Villa will top up this area of the squad. Loans will certainly be considered, especially now Tuanzebe has moved on.

The scouting team have been interested in full-backs who can play on either side of the pitch which is why background checks have been made on Bologna’s Aaron Hickey.

In the young Scot’s profile on FBref, it shows him to be 64 per cent left-footed, which is remarkably two-footed given that most players tend to check in at over 80 per cent on their favoured side.

His other strengths in possession can be seen in green on the graphic below. What they show is that Hickey is good on the ball and often keeps it simple with his passing (link-up play volume 82 out of 99). He looks after possession at a very high rate for his position (ball retention ability 75 out of 99), and off the ball, he’s quite active in getting into a position to make a defensive action (defending intensity 76 out of 99), so a fairly active front-foot defender.

If you’re also wondering why the super-talented 19-year-old is listed as a left-midfielder, it’s because he plays as a wing-back within a back five.

Villa also had a sniff around Young Boys right-back Silvan Hefti but chose not to pursue it further. Hefti is now set for a move to Italian side Genoa.

And what other options are out there?

If Gerrard wants a player similar in style to Borna Barisic who performed well for his former club Rangers, then AZ Alkmaar’s Owen Wijndal fits the bill.

The 22-year-old Dutchman is an overlapping left-back who loves to get forward and attack. By doing this he is more likely to receive the ball in dangerous areas, hence why his “xG from ball possession” figure is high (68 out of 99) on the graphic below — which, encouragingly, remains high after adjusting for the standard of the Premier League.

Wijndal is similar to Hickey on the ball in his style; he’s unlikely to play longer balls upfield (progressive passing 7 out of 99),  and off the ball, he doesn’t make a ton of defensive actions, either (disrupting opposition moves 16 out of 99), but he’s good at preventing the opposition from progressing further (defending impact 80 out of 99).

Elsewhere, Marvelous Nakamba’s knee injury has also left Villa a little light in defensive midfield.

If they were to recruit in this area, it would only be to strengthen the department, rather than simply add to the numbers. Kalvin Phillips is a player Villa strongly admire but the difficulty of getting him out of Leeds if they remain a Premier League club makes it a non-starter for now.

Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse was targeted over the summer but a deal was too expensive to put together and the England international signed a contract extension soon after.

His midfield team-mate, Oriel Romeu, was also considered and has made a significant impact on this season so far with his high volume of defensive actions, shown in red on the graphic below.

The most interesting name linked with Villa is certainly Rangers’ Glen Kamara. He’s the star of the team and capable of playing in more of a holding role within a midfield three (or two) or more advanced on the left of a three.

Kamara is similar to Nakamba in style as he doesn’t offer much in the way of attack, but he will keep it simple in possession (link-up play volume 96 out of 99) and keep possession at an above-average rate for his position (ball retention ability 66 out of 99).

Off the ball, Kamara is active in picking up loose balls and blocking passes (ball recoveries and interceptions 60 out of 99), and as you can see from his duel ratings below — which adjust for the strength of the opponent that a player faces — he’s good in a one-v-one situation.

The difficulty Villa might have is that Kamara only recently signed a new contract at Ibrox, and Gerrard may also give his former club a grace period before returning back to poach their top talent.

If that is the case then Kamara will certainly come back into the equation in the summer with Gerrard recently saying: “We’ve identified where we need some support and the targets that we are trying to bring in.

“If we manage to execute those targets in this window, I think the fans can be excited. If we can make that happen in this window, great. If not, it might be a case of being patient and waiting until the summer. We are actively looking to improve things.”

[Richard E]

Has there actually been any official confirmation that Axel has gone back to Man U?

[sickbeggar]

Can't say Nat Phillips is very inspiring.

[ROBBO]

Apart from Hickey what makes them believe Villa supporters will be excited? very average selection.

[The Edge]

Can't say Nat Phillips is very inspiring.

Unforgettable

[Beard82]

I dont just want sensible signings

I want exciting signings that are also sensible.  I want ones where we think, bloody hell, how did we get him.  And, oh, looks like we mean business type signings.

I want signings that make Ollie Watkins, SJM and Martinez think - bloody hell I would be crazy to leave

I know I'm asking a lot - but I think that is the only way we move forward.

[LeeB]

Can't say Nat Phillips is very inspiring.

Unforgettable

That's what he's not.

[PaulWinch again]

Has there actually been any official confirmation that Axel has gone back to Man U?

I saw it confirmed on the Beeb.

[Risso]

Has there actually been any official confirmation that Axel has gone back to Man U?

I saw it confirmed on the Beeb.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59857499

[sickbeggar]

Been linked with Dwight McNeil again. 40m *gulp*

[Clark W Griswold]

The Athletic's take on our likely January business:

Sensible Transfers – Aston Villa: Liverpool defenders, Hickey and Wijndal at full-back and defensive midfield improvements


By Gregg Evans and Mark Carey

What a load of absolute pointless fucking waffle. Were they paid per word? It’s amusing anyone is paying them at all for that shit.

[brontebilly]

I dont just want sensible signings

I want exciting signings that are also sensible.  I want ones where we think, bloody hell, how did we get him.  And, oh, looks like we mean business type signings.

I want signings that make Ollie Watkins, SJM and Martinez think - bloody hell I would be crazy to leave

I know I'm asking a lot - but I think that is the only way we move forward.

Bailey was a statement signing. Arguably Buendia was too, beating Arsenal to him. I'm sure there were plenty of clubs keen on Ings higher than us in the table. There is also the reality of where we are in the table currently and the level of player we can realistically attract as a result. Losing our former no.10 last summer doesnt help, he was surely a big draw for the likes of Watkins and other attacking players. This time last year we looked to be going places, it's hard to know now.

I prefer well thought out signings. Often the 'statement' ones are panic, Collymore for example but even Scott Hogan in the past or more recently Ings. Shift the team around to accommodate them to the detriment of results.