2023 Summer transfer window - hopes, needs, expectations and rumours.

[AV84]

We haven't got a keeper at the moment either with Emi and Olson still away.

Anyone going bring your own gloves, you might get a game.

[PeterWithe]

Why is Olsen away? Not that I’m distressed by the news.

[Sexual Ealing]

Why is Olsen away? Not that I’m distressed by the news.

I think - for reasons best known to themselves - he's Sweden's number one.

[Brazilian Villain]

We haven't got a keeper at the moment either with Emi and Olson still away.

Anyone going bring your own gloves, you might get a game.

Get this fella in for the weekend. https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/1678082076535341062

Even gets pumped up like Emi. https://twitter.com/buff_egan/status/1678098290284306434

[Risso]

Bit of a cheat using a hockey stick though.

[PeterWithe]

Why is Olsen away? Not that I’m distressed by the news.

I think - for reasons best known to themselves - he's Sweden's number one.

Do you happen to know, at what?

[Sexual Ealing]

Why is Olsen away? Not that I’m distressed by the news.

I think - for reasons best known to themselves - he's Sweden's number one.

Do you happen to know, at what?

Something to do with the competitive assembly of Ikea meatballs.

[Des Little]

Why is Olsen away? Not that I’m distressed by the news.

I think - for reasons best known to themselves - he's Sweden's number one.

Do you happen to know, at what?

Being the cause of night terrors

[pauliewalnuts]

Why is Olsen away? Not that I’m distressed by the news.

I think - for reasons best known to themselves - he's Sweden's number one.

Do you happen to know, at what?

Noir drama.

[pablo_picasso]

Is A Ramsey up to it? Not seen much of him.

Like you I hadn't seen much of him until he moved up to Boro. If I recall he first came off the bench but thereafter was a regular in the starting XI. He's that good. It could be argued that Boro missed out on promotion as AJ got injured and missed the play-offs. He's an excellent footballer, brilliant feet, way beyond his years and full of confidence in his own ability.

I reckon Unai is in for a bit of a pleasant shock; for me AJ is the obvious choice to replace his brother, he's that good. He might not have the physicality of Jacob but he never let anybody bully him in the Championship, he held his own and some.

I would go so far as to say that Aaron Ramsey is better suited to Emerys style of football than Jacob Ramsey...

Apart from the highlights which show goal involvements, I saw Ramsey Jnr play one game for Norwich and two for boro before his injury.  He's technically VERY good, perhaps ahead of Jacob at the same age in that respect.  But Jacob is a much more powerful runner with ball, in my opinion.  That might be age, though. It might be Arron has a bit more growing to do yet, and Jacob for example has definitely filled out since the player who went on loan at 19.

He's definitely technically gifted enough to play in an Emery side, so I expect him to be in and around the first team in pre-season.  He's already more than good enough for a top Championship side, so the next step in his development is Premier League minutes, but those minutes will be hard to come by given the strength in depth we now have in midfield.

I agree, he has a little filling out to do.

Im Hoping that he shares Jacob Ramseys ability to put on muscle.

From what I have read somewhere, their father is a boxer, so I imagine the genes are pretty good, lol.

But even with being a little light, I still think he could fit into Emerys system quickly due to his technical ability & his desire to demand the ball & manipulate it in tight spaces. I admit, I didn't see much of him at Norwich, I think only one game from memory, but I watched a lot of Boro & he really impressed me.

You are right, Jacob Ramsey has a more direct & dynamic running style. And he's probably a more rounded midfielder in terms of the defensive side of his game.

But Aaron Ramsey has the ability to take the ball in tight spaces & make something happen. He also makes lovely late runs into the box off the ball to give an option.

Would be interesting to see Jacob Ramsey on the right & Aaron Ramsey on the left...

[PeterWithe]

His name set down on paper does set off a kind of bleak, hopelessness. A dour forebidding the most depressing of Scandi wordsmiths couldn’t hope to match, if they wrote our team sheets.

[AV84]

Pretty sure there's a pic of him in the training gallery on the site, if anyone thinks they can tell if he's bulked up just by looking at him.

[pablo_picasso]

Pretty sure there's a pic of him in the training gallery on the site, if anyone thinks they can tell if he's bulked up just by looking at him.

Its hard to tell by the angle in terms of his upper torso, but I don't think his arms have changed too much...

[AV84]

Its hard to tell by the angle in terms of his upper torso, but I dint think his arms have changed too much...

He's on his own in it too so can't compare him to anyone. Stupid photographers! It's like they don't want us to speculate on players physical attributes because we're bored in the off season!

[Drummond]

TOM COLLOMOSSE: Aston Villa's past transfer mistakes serve as a warning to Unai Emery... but the Spaniard's calmer approach with the signings of Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres suggests the message has got through
By Tom Collomosse For The Daily Mail
Updated 21:56, 11 Jul 2023

Aston Villa spent the £100m they received for Jack Grealish on some big names.
That strategy did not pay off, but it seems they have learned from their mistakes

Aston Villa's strategy in replacing Jack Grealish two summers ago should serve as a warning that simply having money is no guarantee of improving your team.

Villa spent the £100million they received from Manchester City on Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings and Leon Bailey.

Ings was sold to West Ham barely 18 months later and Bailey is for sale this summer. Of the trio – signed under Dean Smith – only Buendia has been even a qualified success.

Unless you have unlimited wealth to back a rock-solid plan, the modern transfer market is fiendishly difficult to nail, even when a club has billionaire owners. That is why supporters should take heart that Villa seem to have shelved their early-window giddiness in favour of a sensible, realistic approach.

Youri Tielemans has arrived on a free after running down his contract at Leicester while Pau Torres – not long ago one of Europe’s most coveted centre-backs – is poised to join from Villarreal for £31million this week.

Unai Emery seems to have learned from Aston Villa's past mistakes in the transfer window

Villa sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City in 2021 on a mammoth £100million deal but failed to use their spending from his sale wisely during that same summer transfer window

Leon Bailey joined Villa in 2021 for £25milliion

Danny Ings was also signed in the summer of 2021 for £25m

Tielemans is a proven Premier League performer while Torres was part of the Villarreal side who reached the Champions League semi-finals two years ago under current Villa boss Unai Emery.

This is more like it. No point wasting time trying to sign Marco Asensio, who was available for nothing after leaving Real Madrid but always felt like a foolish target.

Was a 27-year-old with three Champions League winner’s medals really going to sign for Villa? If he had done so, his salary would have had his new team-mates knocking on the manager’s door pretty quickly, and there is no easier way to damage team spirit than by paying a new signing far more than the majority of your squad.

The disastrous deal for Philippe Coutinho should have taught Villa a valuable lesson and it is probably better all round that Asensio has joined Paris St Germain.

With Monchi poached from Sevilla to lead recruitment and Emery in the dugout, Villa were always going to look to LaLiga to improve their squad. Expect that to continue.

They desperately want a wide man and Leicester’s Harvey Barnes, who appears set to join Newcastle, was on the list but not top of it.

The same applies to Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson, while Villa are thought to have asked Bayer Leverkusen about Moussa Diaby last weekend. Emery is a huge admirer of Nico Williams but the Athletic Bilbao flier appears more likely to stay where he is.

Villa also want a forward to be both partner and alternative to Ollie Watkins and the beauty of Diaby is his versatility, though the Frenchman is valued at £50m, which would break Villa’s transfer record. Ferran Torres, the former Manchester City man now at Barcelona, is another in that category though that deal feels like a slow burner.

Villa are also lining up a move for Bayer Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby who could be a very astute signing but is available for £50m

Both Diaby and Torres would improve Villa’s options without upsetting the apple cart. Because in his first six months at Villa Park, Emery quickly found a way to make this squad fulfil its potential.

Outside the chosen few, Villa should be one of the teams to beat this season, as long as they can handle a Europa Conference League campaign alongside their domestic commitments.

If he can stay fit, Boubacar Kamara could be one of the stars of the season while Emiliano Martinez, Tyrone Mings, Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Luiz and Watkins were among the best performers in the league under Emery.

Ramsey faces a spell on the sidelines with a broken foot but there is no reason why the other four should not pick up where they left off, even though Emery has never seemed entirely convinced by Martinez, who may not be his long-term solution in goal.

When Villa reorganised their football structure to leave Monchi, Emery and director of football operations Damia Vidagany at the wheel, it would have been tempting to do a great deal in a hurry.

The most important thing, however, is for Villa to understand that they already have a strong squad and their calm approach to the start of the window suggests the message has got through.