January 2023 Transfer Rumours, Discussions and Done Deals Thread

[charlatan]

Dembele's goal record is quite prolific.  At 26 I'd have thought you'd make a bit on money on him even if he's only a filler for a couple of seasons.  I'm sure he'll want wages to reflect his cheap fee, but even so it doesn't look like terrible business to me?

15 national cup goals in the last eight seasons (including this one) according to Wikipedia. That's more than twice as many as Aston Villa.

[eamonn]

£50 for Cash... Mad money. Have to take it. Also have to sign a right back smartish.

Is this true? His value is closer to £50 than £50m but would be briliant if true. All our money worries over for a few years, let Unai mould his own team.

[Toronto Villa]

I like Matty but fuck me we need to drive him there pronto if we get anything like 50m.

[john e]

If Watkins gets injured will it be that difficult to replace him
we go on as if he’s the only center forward we’ve got but he’s not really an out and out center forward is he

he’s not a target man, he doesn’t get many goals, he doesn’t hold the ball up that well, his touch and control is very limited but he does put a shift in so in effect we’ve been playing with a false 9 all season
any of our forward players can fill in there and have much the same effect

I don’t see it as a great problem

[nigel]

Maybe though the reason he's so cheap is because he's really shit? Like, I'm sure we could bring Scott Hogan back pretty cheaply too.

21 league goals in 30 games for Lyon last season would suggest he isn't shit anyway. Obligatory YouTube highlights suggest hes more of a penalty box type striker, so the worry would be are we swapping Ings for a younger Ings. Then again youtube highlights suggested KEA was a world beater.

He scored some nice goals last year but yeh, they did include some penalties to pad the stats. Mind you that’s always overlooked when it comes to lavishing praise on Wor Alan or Kane.

I wouldn't downplay a striker who scores penalties. It's good to have a reliable penalty take who you can be pretty confident will score.

Takes a decent penalty, too

[LeeB]

I like Matty but fuck me we need to drive him there pronto if we get anything like 50m.

For that kind of money, I'd change the name of the stadium to "Chelsea are a Great Bunch of Lads Park" till the end of the season

[Percy McCarthy]

Maybe though the reason he's so cheap is because he's really shit? Like, I'm sure we could bring Scott Hogan back pretty cheaply too.

21 league goals in 30 games for Lyon last season would suggest he isn't shit anyway. Obligatory YouTube highlights suggest hes more of a penalty box type striker, so the worry would be are we swapping Ings for a younger Ings. Then again youtube highlights suggested KEA was a world beater.

He scored some nice goals last year but yeh, they did include some penalties to pad the stats. Mind you that’s always overlooked when it comes to lavishing praise on Wor Alan or Kane.

I wouldn't downplay a striker who scores penalties. It's good to have a reliable penalty take who you can be pretty confident will score.

Takes a decent penalty, too

Is he the full-time captain or was he just filling in that day? Usually denotes a good sort.

[supertom]

I'd take Dembele. He's played over here before. Still in his prime years. It's a (potentially) solid January signing that fills a gap until we can get the level of striker we need for the next step. I'd say he arguably improves on what Ings provides. Quicker and stronger. Workrate and consistency are probably not quite as good, but though I like Ings, he always looked like he was running through treacle.

[eamonn]

In the winter window lineage of Borja Baston, Grant Holt, Oscar (?) Cummings; he'd do, I guess. 

[Rudy Can't Fail]

What we need is a combination of somebody who runs around all day chasing the ball like Watkins and a technically skilled footballer like Ings. Dembele looks to have the skill but appears to preserve his energy.

[baddowvillans]

Is it just me that wonders if our illustrious owners are quite as rich or committed as we thought.  Regularly over the last few years I have corrected supporters of other clubs with " Villa have the third richest owners in the League" (now 4th of course).  Throughout that time however it doesnt really like that.  If you compare our seemingly random approach to signing players to the way Newcastle have behaved since gaining their investors we look like total amateurs.  Having strengthened successfully already they are still looking to add new players to replace temporary stand ins like Targett and Woods.  Targeted and persuasive signings.  What's the point of having rich owners if they never get their wallet out.  Of course I know that it might not necessarily them that is the problem but iur recruitment team.  All I know is I don't feel we have the approach or leverage we should have

[bob]

WTF is going on at Chelsea?

[ChicagoLion]

Is it just me that wonders if our illustrious owners are quite as rich or committed as we thought.  Regularly over the last few years I have corrected supporters of other clubs with " Villa have the third richest owners in the League" (now 4th of course).  Throughout that time however it doesnt really like that.  If you compare our seemingly random approach to signing players to the way Newcastle have behaved since gaining their investors we look like total amateurs.  Having strengthened successfully already they are still looking to add new players to replace temporary stand ins like Targett and Woods.  Targeted and persuasive signings.  What's the point of having rich owners if they never get their wallet out.  Of course I know that it might not necessarily them that is the problem but iur recruitment team.  All I know is I don't feel we have the approach or leverage we should have

I think it is more to do with piss poor recruitment and a lack of faith in those recruiting. I think that has changed with the new manager who has obviously been given controll over recruitment but will be working within Financial parameters set by the board.

[algy]

WTF is going on at Chelsea?

They’re panicking. They’ve appointed badly IMO - not that Potter is a bad manager, I think he’s very capable - but he’s a manager you’d appoint based on what he’ll achieve over 5 or 6 seasons, not sack because Season 1 you’ve ended up mid table … and that doesn’t seem their style, more throwing money at problems.

[Small Rodent]

Chelsea = long contracts = FFP spread over those contracts.