January 2023 Transfer Rumours, Discussions and Done Deals Thread

[PaulWinch again]

I think we’ve done exactly the right thing in ditching Ings - If we get a decent stop gap forward.
The fee may not be massive, but getting rid of his wages and also the worry about his poor injury history.

If he was still with us, with this new injury, we are almost in the same position - we can’t play him, can’t rush him back…
we’d be in the position of thinking we should buy a forward.

I’m optimistic a few things will happen today.

Well let’s hope so, because they need to.

[frank black]

I think we should acknowledge that the players we have been most strongly linked with, ie. reported to have actually made offers for, have either signed (Moreno, Duran),  turned us down (Williams) or got injured (Deulofeu). So as I see it, UE is being backed. Maybe we’re just having some bad luck.

Also, I think I read something tonight along the lines of Dembele refusing to go anywhere in this window in order to cash in come the end of the season when his contract runs out. Granted, the links to him have been nowhere near as widely reported as to the other four.

I suspect most of these have been banded about by their agents/clubs, or just made up stories. all part of the transfer window merry go round. We tend to do things a little more under the radar (most times). Weston McKennie ended up at relegation threatened Leeds, Danjuma at one point had signed for Everton, before he got lucky. Dembele is linked with Southampton.

We’ve probably been after players that clubs don’t want to lose. So we should pay up or give up, til the summer. Personally my view is we need to pay up for a striker (at least)

[Clampy]

I wouldn't worry about Kamara going just yet. I don't think he expected us to get European football in his first season anyway (and we still might).

Regarding the striker situation, taking away the rights and wrongs of being two strikers down, what do the club do. Wait until the player they want is available, pay £3m for someone like Dembele who Emery might not what want or fit into how he wants to play or bring in a Borja Baston stopgap who fans will call a pointless signing later on? Keeping Archer would have been the best idea but he hasn't played that much first team football himself.

[ozzjim]

As of right now we have...

2 keepers, 2 left backs, 2 right backs, 3.5 centre backs (Carlos returning soon).

5 centre mids (some will play wide), 2 wide attacking mids (PC and EB) and 3 forwards as Bailey is clearly seen as more of a forward than winger by Emery.

At that point, realistically if we bought in 1 today up top with a bit of pace we are probably covered. Watkins is the only one in there that there are zero proper back ups for, but Duran looks a unit, has played full international football and clearly has some talent.

[TheMalandro]

I wouldn't worry about Kamara going just yet. I don't think he expected us to get European football in his first season anyway (and we still might).

Regarding the striker situation, taking away the rights and wrongs of being two strikers down, what do the club do. Wait until the player they want is available, pay £3m for someone like Dembele who Emery might not what want or fit into how he wants to play or bring in a Borja Baston stopgap who fans will call a pointless signing later on? Keeping Archer would have been the best idea but he hasn't played that much first team football himself.

That’s the issue, it’s either a primary target or a stop-gap sub.

The Archer thing is disappointing, but at least we have a manager that I trust to make that call. Perhaps half a season of first team football is more beneficial.

[Mister E]

As the result of us being on our third manager in just over a year, the squad needs some surgery to become balanced. It would be nice if we could have been merrily squad building over the past couple of years, with a clear purpose and direction, but that clearly hasn’t happened. There is inevitably some wastage from signing players to suit a particular manager, who is subsequently sacked, and I think the jury is still out on Lange’s effectiveness as well.

If there is something that pisses me off more than my club not signing players to address an obvious weakness in the squad, it is my club signing the wrong players on big wages and long contracts, and becoming hamstrung in the transfer market going forwards. My understanding is that Emery likes to work with a fairly small squad. Of course we could benefit from a few incomings, and the fact that we are within striking distance of European places makes it tantalising, but if the right players aren’t available what do we do? There has been lots of speculation about certain players, but there is no certainty that we were ever after them. Of course it would be great to bring in another striker, to give us cover, and an option from the bench. Other than Felix though, I’m not aware of a player that another EPL team has signed that would have fitted the bill.

So I’m summary, I would like us to sign a couple more players now, but I’m not going to blame the club if the right players aren’t available. Perhaps that’s the wrong mentality?

You've summarised the situation well - takes a former pro coach to spot the logic, I suppose, Sam.

[john e]

Everyone is worried about a injury to Watkins if we don’t bring anyone in
I’m more shit scared if there’s an injury to Martinez, if that happens, we are totally fucked

[Mister E]

They manage to sign players is the point I was making, with reference to the "players all want CL" yada yada excuses we make for ourselves.

Isn't that where we've been? - signing players that make no significant difference on our fortunes? A state we're now trying to unravel.

[ozzjim]

Everyone is worried about a injury to Watkins if we don’t bring anyone in
I’m more shit scared if there’s an injury to Martinez, if that happens, we are totally fucked

Agree wholeheartedly with this. Where is Steer these days?

[Mister E]

Who's our head scout these days? surely there must be many very good players out there without having to spend muti-millions. Another Benteke please.

Duran?

[boozey182]

As the result of us being on our third manager in just over a year, the squad needs some surgery to become balanced. It would be nice if we could have been merrily squad building over the past couple of years, with a clear purpose and direction, but that clearly hasn’t happened. There is inevitably some wastage from signing players to suit a particular manager, who is subsequently sacked, and I think the jury is still out on Lange’s effectiveness as well.

If there is something that pisses me off more than my club not signing players to address an obvious weakness in the squad, it is my club signing the wrong players on big wages and long contracts, and becoming hamstrung in the transfer market going forwards. My understanding is that Emery likes to work with a fairly small squad. Of course we could benefit from a few incomings, and the fact that we are within striking distance of European places makes it tantalising, but if the right players aren’t available what do we do? There has been lots of speculation about certain players, but there is no certainty that we were ever after them. Of course it would be great to bring in another striker, to give us cover, and an option from the bench. Other than Felix though, I’m not aware of a player that another EPL team has signed that would have fitted the bill.

So I’m summary, I would like us to sign a couple more players now, but I’m not going to blame the club if the right players aren’t available. Perhaps that’s the wrong mentality?

You've summarised the situation well - takes a former pro coach to spot the logic, I suppose, Sam.

This is basically where I am too.

I think where I differ from a lot of people on here is what difference I think an extra signing will do to our chances of getting into Europe this year. I think it could make a small difference, but not a huge one. If we play a few matches having Durán as our main striker, it won't necessarily be a disaster. If Watkins is out for a long period of time then I think we'll be in trouble, but I aslo think that would have been the case even if we'd have kept Danny Inj.

What it looks to me is that Emery has been given a sustainable wage structure and transfer budget to work with. He's identified what players he would like and which ones he wants to get rid of, and has started work on that. It could be that some of the players he wants, like Guendouzi for example, would cost more now than they would in the summer - by waiting 6 months, he might be able to afford to get in someone else - maybe this Chillean kid that we've been linked with, a riskier puchase, but with a high ceiling.

It's a risk to go into the season with the squad we've got (and I still think we'll see someone come in today), but it would also be a risk to spend the majority of his budget in his first window. The summer will be a chance for him to build his ideal Villa squad, right now it is just a case of finishing as high as we can, and cleaning up the mess the last guy left us in.

[Chris Smith]

Everyone is worried about a injury to Watkins if we don’t bring anyone in
I’m more shit scared if there’s an injury to Martinez, if that happens, we are totally fucked

Agree wholeheartedly with this. Where is Steer these days?

Before the Leeds game Emery said he was due to return to training soon but I haven’t seen anything since.

[ozzjim]

He's twice the keeper Olsen dreams of being when fit.

[Abbeyfealeavfc]

As the result of us being on our third manager in just over a year, the squad needs some surgery to become balanced. It would be nice if we could have been merrily squad building over the past couple of years, with a clear purpose and direction, but that clearly hasn’t happened. There is inevitably some wastage from signing players to suit a particular manager, who is subsequently sacked, and I think the jury is still out on Lange’s effectiveness as well.

If there is something that pisses me off more than my club not signing players to address an obvious weakness in the squad, it is my club signing the wrong players on big wages and long contracts, and becoming hamstrung in the transfer market going forwards. My understanding is that Emery likes to work with a fairly small squad. Of course we could benefit from a few incomings, and the fact that we are within striking distance of European places makes it tantalising, but if the right players aren’t available what do we do? There has been lots of speculation about certain players, but there is no certainty that we were ever after them. Of course it would be great to bring in another striker, to give us cover, and an option from the bench. Other than Felix though, I’m not aware of a player that another EPL team has signed that would have fitted the bill.

So I’m summary, I would like us to sign a couple more players now, but I’m not going to blame the club if the right players aren’t available. Perhaps that’s the wrong mentality?

This^ all day long, though the folly of purslow’s vanity projects is also culpable and this could yet run into the summer depending on what happens with Emi M and Kamara.

[kippaxvilla2]

Kevin Philips coming in on loan.