January 2023 Transfer Rumours, Discussions and Done Deals Thread

[curiousorange]

European football is European football. Or am I missing something?

[DB]

He is trimming down the squad ok fine, but we need a striker, but then Jan is a tricky period to get who you want in.
We could do a Chelsea and pay way over the odds…

[paul_e]

My concern is what was Emery promised to entice him to take the job in the first place and has those promises been reneged upon?  I don't believe they have but I think my unease is understandable.  Also if he has the keys to the kingdom as far as transfers are concerned, just exactly what does he think he's doing, I'd love to know.

I don't think they have. There is far too much noise about bids for it to be all made up.

What I suspect has happened is that our targets for Emery are very different to what Gerrard was after and it's meant a lot of the scouting we'd done isn't worth anything. A few players will have been pushed ahead with, Duran being the obvious one, but, for example, Gerrard wouldn't have been scouting for a Left Back but clearly emery wanted one in. I think we've just found that it's difficult to do business in January when you haven't been talking with the players and clubs for a while unless you're willing to offer huge fees and wages like Chelsea have. It's made harder by the fact that we're after top half standard players and there just aren't many of them moving right now. Across the entire league there's 3-4 players that I think would've been good signings for us and only 1 if you ignore the obscenities at Chelsea.

I think this is entirely likely, but I also think not recognising that January is a time when you will be forced to pay a premium or you might not get your first choice is naive or reckless, or both. There's enough movement going on to suggest a team could have replaced a player we were willing to pay the money for.

True but you also have the fact that some players don't like moving in mid-season. Nico Williams, for example, may well be interested in joining in the summer but said no now, so if we want him what do we do? Looking at someone for a loan is the obvious answer, and we've freed up the loan spots to enable that, but loans normally come right at the end of the window anyway. I wouldn't be amazed if we're pushing for Ziyech on loan and then we'll revisit a few in the summer.

On top of that I think there's a decent chance we were after Deulofeu but him having an injury that's written off the rest of the season has killed that idea.

Only 2 examples but if you have a shortlist of 3-4 and 2 deals collapse like that it will clearly make things harder.

[brontebilly]

Is there a bit of a concern that with the exception of Ramsey that our academy isn't producing players good enough of competing for the first team? Archer, Iroegbunam might not be too far off I guess but still the club bought Dendoncker in Tim's area and Duran in Archer's spot.

On the recruitment side, let's see how tomorrow goes. The owners were still able to convince Emery to leave CL semi finalists only a few months ago. Likes of Carlos, Kamara, Moreno were all sufficiently impressed by the club's ambition in the not too distant past.

[LeonW]

I really don't get this 'wait til the summer' stuff.  Those same players will still all want Champions League football.  Villa really aren't seen by footballers the way we fans do.  Kick that can down the road.

Is my take. We can talk all we like about great owners and potential but we don't have anything concrete to offer the level of player we need. As Chris put it - Manana Villa.

I’m a cynic and realist. As much as the owners have put into the club, we shouldn’t forget that ultimately they’re businessmen who want to increase the value and profitability of the asset they’ve purchased. They’ve undoubtedly done that and in the event of any future sale, will profit on their original investment. You only have to look at what Chelsea went for and what Liverpool and Manchester United are being reportedly being quoted at to see that, even thought we’d obviously command a likely lower fee. There’s being smart in the market like a Kamara and an Emi M, but there come occasions where the financial controls have to be unshackled to push on. I don’t seeing pushing on as a minimum top 6 push. The season is still up for grabs as there’s a lot of uncertainty currently. There’s the unique circumstances of the WC and both Emery and the club having another pre-season. The strategy of any club should account for taking advantage of uncertainty or flux. Some of those Villa media voices have said that Villa will go for the right player ‘if they become available,’ but that is something to always potentially hide behind because at points, you have to take the plunge. It’s not about entitlement. Take the Ings transfer. If we don’t replace him we’re short and all for effectively £2.5m extra on the balance sheet because I believe he came in for £25m on a 3 year contract. So West Ham effectively paid the incurred amortization on his transfer for the last 1.5 years of his fee, plus about £2.5m. Leaving the first team short of a viable player (our current top scorer) for that amount is not a club focusing enough on pushing on for me. Duran may not be ready to step into the Ings space and it’s asking him alot to do so. Maybe before the end of the window we’ll see otherwise but more needs to be done to show we’re serious about not just making up the numbers.

[Ian.]

One thing I suppose, if there’s anything to take from this window, is we’ve managed to move on all the players surplus to requirements we’ve signed since promotion. I would say nearly every single player who’s gone, at some point someone has said they are not good enough to take us forward. Also with Emery in charge it probably isn’t just a case of whether they are good enough but if they can play how he wants us to play, as in the case with Ings.

Still one day left, so here’s hoping for a top class player or two.

[SoccerHQ]

He is trimming down the squad ok fine, but we need a striker, but then Jan is a tricky period to get who you want in.
We could do a Chelsea and pay way over the odds…

Think most would be happy with six month loan and then look again during the summer.

I remember West Ham signing Lingard two years ago. Was met with ridicule at the time but he played a big part in them finishing 6th in the end and they made the europa SF the following season.

[john2710]

With exception of Ings, those who've gone have contributed the square root of fuck all to where we are in the league & they wouldn't have contributed to the second half of the season either.

Nobody could complain about getting £15m for a half-paced Ings. But do we buy a Dembele for a few million, on a fat 4 1/2 year contract only to find out in 6 months he's actually shite? Or do we wait to sign someone in the summer? I'd rather wait if an improvement isn't available.

But we could get someone on a loan.

[Brazilian Villain]

What I suspect has happened is that our targets for Emery are very different to what Gerrard was after and it's meant a lot of the scouting we'd done isn't worth anything. A few players will have been pushed ahead with, Duran being the obvious one, but, for example, Gerrard wouldn't have been scouting for a Left Back but clearly emery wanted one in. I think we've just found that it's difficult to do business in January when you haven't been talking with the players and clubs for a while unless you're willing to offer huge fees and wages like Chelsea have. It's made harder by the fact that we're after top half standard players and there just aren't many of them moving right now. Across the entire league there's 3-4 players that I think would've been good signings for us and only 1 if you ignore the obscenities at Chelsea.

That sounds pretty plausible and I'd rather we get the right players in (that UE wants) rather than buying for the sake of it. However, I thought we'd have Guendouzi + 1 other in by now and even I have to admit it's ominously quiet with 1 day to go.

[Dante Lavelli]

Who has moved that we’d like and is a realistic target? 

The main one I can think of is Manduek, other than that we might have tried for felix or Depay before the big clubs bid.  I don’t think we missed out on much which suggests buying might be harder than usual.

[Dave]

European football is European football. Or am I missing something?

Nah, you've got it wrong. We should opt out of football matches in general, until we get our invitation to the Champions League final.

[ChicagoLion]

Our recruitment has been less than optimal,we wasted the Greasy cash, we sold and bought left backs with out any significant improvement. Coutinho Bredernack Dendonker.
Kamara is the only recent stand out success.
This suggests that we don’t have the right people in place, this is down to Lange and Purslow who are obviously not up to it.

[Small Rodent]

We live in a world of instant gratification

Christ, if I wanted instant gratification I'm sure there are other teams I could follow that would fulfil that better than Aston Villa. One league title and one FA Cup in over a century, and no League Cups since 1996. That's about as far from "instant gratification" as it's possible to get. When did our fanbase get so obsequious and servile?

Fantastically put.

[john e]

A push for Europe would have been nice but if we are sticking, rather than twisting it makes a mockery of the FA and league cup exits
What an absolute fucking shambles that was

Also, what is the point in qualifying for Europe and then playing the reserves as some have suggested

The way the cup competitions are treated is the the thing I hate most about football nowadays

Because it gives them first team experience & rests the first team. Its called squad management...

It’s called winning fuck all in 26 years

[Smithy]

Is there a bit of a concern that with the exception of Ramsey that our academy isn't producing players good enough of competing for the first team? Archer, Iroegbunam might not be too far off I guess but still the club bought Dendoncker in Tim's area and Duran in Archer's spot.

On the recruitment side, let's see how tomorrow goes. The owners were still able to convince Emery to leave CL semi finalists only a few months ago. Likes of Carlos, Kamara, Moreno were all sufficiently impressed by the club's ambition in the not too distant past.

In the last two years we've sold youth products for a combined £120m.  We've got academy players who won the FA Youth Cup (but are still teenagers) who've done well in the Championship. One from that team has already gone for £20m to Chelsea. Another was doing well at Norwich until injury, plus Tim is doing well at QPR.  Then you have Cam, too. I really don't think there is any problem with how our academy is performing right now.  If anything, it's performing well above the mean.