Summer 2022 Transfer Thread

[RamboandBruno]

Richarlison... fairly underwhelming.

It's expensive, but seems like quite a smart move as he can cover right accross their front three.

Not going to slate spurs as they have a good manager and some great players, along their front line in particular. But i think Richarlson is average and flatters to deceive. Different players, but for all the comments on here about his first touch, id much rather have Watkins.
Saying that i’d much rather be discussing another new and exciting signing for Villa rather thsn spurs signing Richarlson

Well quite, but I think keeping tabs on who other teams are signing and in particular the fees they are paying is pretty relevant to us.

True Chris. I suppose I’m just starting to get a bit twitchy as it feels were only a couple in the right positions away from having a squad capable of pushing for Europe.

[Beard82]

Richarlison... fairly underwhelming.

It's expensive, but seems like quite a smart move as he can cover right accross their front three.

Not going to slate spurs as they have a good manager and some great players, along their front line in particular. But i think Richarlson is average and flatters to deceive. Different players, but for all the comments on here about his first touch, id much rather have Watkins.
Saying that i’d much rather be discussing another new and exciting signing for Villa rather thsn spurs signing Richarlson

Well quite, but I think keeping tabs on who other teams are signing and in particular the fees they are paying is pretty relevant to us.

True Chris. I suppose I’m just starting to get a bit twitchy as it feels were only a couple in the right positions away from having a squad capable of pushing for Europe.

Yeah that does seem to be the sentiment with lots of Villa fans.  I think some of it was because we got some business done so early, with PC, Carlos and Kamara.  Plus we have increased the price of everything for fans so expectations are rightly raised.

But - on the face of it most of the team is untouched from the team that played our last game. 

Our defence is stronger with more depth, but I never thjought it was a big issue TBH.

The DM is hopefully much upgraded.  But the rest of midfield is as was and is overrielent on Ramsey continuing to develop and McGinn and / or luiz having their good games

Im still not convinced any of the the front line really works in the formations we were playing last season, but there is a shed load of talent there

I think there will be more in, but havent seen anyone we are linked with that massively excites me (but my european football knowledge is pretty rubbish).

I guess as things stand, we've got the two things that were missing from last season - a settled preseason with the (new) manager, and a DM that will hopefully go on to be world class

[pauliewalnuts]

It's not even July yet.

[Beard82]

It's not even July yet.

Yeah sorry, I wasnt suggesting we panic, they were more musings on where we are currently, and some suggestions on why there seems to be a slightly agitated state among Villa fans.

[Brazilian Villain]

It's not even July yet.

Yeah sorry, I wasnt suggesting we panice,

It's still early days, we should all just chill.

[paul_e]

For me there were 3 absolute priorities, keep Coutinho, sign a proper DM and more broadly have 2 decent options in every position. Gerrard obviously saw anothe CB as essential as well.

The first 2 were sorted 4-5 weeks ago, along with the bonus one Gerrard wanted, all 3 adding real quality to the squad with players who probably should be in European competition for the season.

The broader one is mostly reliant on replacing players that leave, so LB is a priority because Targett has gone, CM is a priority because Sanson seems to be on his way and who knows what is happening with Luiz, RB might need a look if Guilbert doesn't come back and they don't see Kesler as ready, same up front with Archer.

[Beard82]

I personally think a new CF should be a priority, particularly if were planning on playing to upfront next season

[chrisw1]

I think the feeling must be we have a lot of quality up front and their finishing is bound to click next season.  It’s a bit of a leap of faith but I kind of agree.  We all know Watkins can be excellent and Ings is a top striker even if he didn’t entirely show it last season.  More to the point, who could we get that is better for a sensible fee AND would come to us?  I’m pretty sure there’s nobody based in the PL who would fit the bill.

So I suspect we’ll be going with what we have + Cam up front

[Legion]

For me there were 3 absolute priorities, keep Coutinho, sign a proper DM and more broadly have 2 decent options in every position. Gerrard obviously saw anothe CB as essential as well.

The first 2 were sorted 4-5 weeks ago, along with the bonus one Gerrard wanted, all 3 adding real quality to the squad with players who probably should be in European competition for the season.

The broader one is mostly reliant on replacing players that leave, so LB is a priority because Targett has gone, CM is a priority because Sanson seems to be on his way and who knows what is happening with Luiz, RB might need a look if Guilbert doesn't come back and they don't see Kesler as ready, same up front with Archer.

Gerrard wants a full pre-season with Archer to assess whether he is ready or not.

[Risso]

I think the feeling must be we have a lot of quality up front and their finishing is bound to click next season.  It’s a bit of a leap of faith but I kind of agree.  We all know Watkins can be excellent and Ings is a top striker even if he didn’t entirely show it last season.  More to the point, who could we get that is better for a sensible fee AND would come to us?  I’m pretty sure there’s nobody based in the PL who would fit the bill.

So I suspect we’ll be going with what we have + Cam up front

Why do they have be based in the Premier League? Watkins isn't excellent, he's a decent striker let down massively by his first touch.

[Legion]

I think the feeling must be we have a lot of quality up front and their finishing is bound to click next season.  It’s a bit of a leap of faith but I kind of agree.  We all know Watkins can be excellent and Ings is a top striker even if he didn’t entirely show it last season.  More to the point, who could we get that is better for a sensible fee AND would come to us?  I’m pretty sure there’s nobody based in the PL who would fit the bill.

So I suspect we’ll be going with what we have + Cam up front

Agreed.

[Legion]

I think the feeling must be we have a lot of quality up front and their finishing is bound to click next season.  It’s a bit of a leap of faith but I kind of agree.  We all know Watkins can be excellent and Ings is a top striker even if he didn’t entirely show it last season.  More to the point, who could we get that is better for a sensible fee AND would come to us?  I’m pretty sure there’s nobody based in the PL who would fit the bill.

So I suspect we’ll be going with what we have + Cam up front

Why do they have be based in the Premier League? Watkins isn't excellent, he's a decent striker let down massively by his first touch.

Watkins can be excellent on his day. Few and far between last season, though.

[ASHTONVILLA]

For me there were 3 absolute priorities, keep Coutinho, sign a proper DM and more broadly have 2 decent options in every position. Gerrard obviously saw anothe CB as essential as well.

The first 2 were sorted 4-5 weeks ago, along with the bonus one Gerrard wanted, all 3 adding real quality to the squad with players who probably should be in European competition for the season.

The broader one is mostly reliant on replacing players that leave, so LB is a priority because Targett has gone, CM is a priority because Sanson seems to be on his way and who knows what is happening with Luiz, RB might need a look if Guilbert doesn't come back and they don't see Kesler as ready, same up front with Archer.

Gerrard wants a full pre-season with Archer to assess whether he is ready or not.

He is.

The only striker leaving should be Ings or Watkins, Archer is a keeper.

[ChicagoLion]

I think the feeling must be we have a lot of quality up front and their finishing is bound to click next season.  It’s a bit of a leap of faith but I kind of agree.  We all know Watkins can be excellent and Ings is a top striker even if he didn’t entirely show it last season.  More to the point, who could we get that is better for a sensible fee AND would come to us?  I’m pretty sure there’s nobody based in the PL who would fit the bill.

So I suspect we’ll be going with what we have + Cam up front

Why do they have be based in the Premier League? Watkins isn't excellent, he's a decent striker let down massively by his first touch.

Spot on and  did Ings have a mediocre season because of his role his form or his age?
Let’s hope it was form.

[Dogtanian]

Watkins is let down by his speed of thought. You can often actually see the moment when his brain switches from thinking about controlling the ball to working out what to do with it.

Compare that to Buendia, where you can often see him look around and make a decision in expectation that he’s about to receive the ball. Burnley away for Ings goal is a great example of that if I remember right.

Often when Watkins has a chance he takes a touch he doesn’t need rather than shooting to give himself the time to decide what to do, and by then in the Prem the chance is either gone or reduced severely. He needs to trust his instincts more.

What is telling is his and Gerrard’s comments about needing to be a ‘killer’ in front of goal and the videos that have been posted on Twitter lately of him practicing his receiving of the ball and finishing with minimum touches. They’re focusing massively on this area of his game and with his work rate and the right coaching he’s capable of being a 20+ goal striker in the league next season.