2024 January transfer window - hopes, needs, expectations and rumours.

[Steve67]

Fair point Dr G. I hope we bringing one really good player as a middle ground and just so we keep improving.

[Drummond]

An injury to Martinez would be both less likely and much, much more devastating IMO. I can imagine a scenario where we've got Bailey and Diaby up front (for instance) and scoring boatloads, but no scenario in which Robin Olsen qualifies for the Champions League as a no. 1.

Exactly right. We need a decent back up keeper more than anything.

[VILLA MOLE]

We're interested in Red Bull Salzburg's Israeli midfielder Oscar Gloukh, 19, according to Football Insider.

Signed him on Football Manager a few weeks back. Same thing happened with a certain Juan Pablo Angel over 20 years ago. Get him signed.

isn't football insider a lot of nonsense ?

It is, but that's why we have this thread.

Tis true I will stand down

Don't Stand Me Down

up you get then 

[Brazilian Villain]

Gallagher is like a yappy, young puppy chasing around and then biiting into his pet rat with a funny noise as he squeezes it. 

The Sam Thompson of the football world, fine for a while but eventually really gets on your nerves.

[Risso]

Finding quality players that are willing to play second fiddle is the main problem here. If we can establish ourselves as regular performers in the top 4 that will become easier.  As it stands we will look for either first team starters, young and talented or end of contract that are willing to move for a pay rise.

Why do they have to play second fiddle? Sign players better than what we have, and play them. Make the competition even more fierce because buying second fiddle players does not raise the bar.

I feel that trying to buy in players of that quality in January risks breaking the cohesion of the team that exists at the moement, the thing that is making us successful.  Big signings should  be a summer thing so they have time to bed in and don't upset the dressing room.  Also those type of players aren't generally available in January unless 1:they are being forced out of a team 2: are trying to engineer a move or, 3: they have only 6 months on their contract.  Except in the 3rd situation they are probably a player that isn't going to have the attitude we need at VP.  Just my opinion.

Injuries will knacker team cohesion far more than bringing a new player in ever will.

[nick harper]

Finding quality players that are willing to play second fiddle is the main problem here. If we can establish ourselves as regular performers in the top 4 that will become easier.  As it stands we will look for either first team starters, young and talented or end of contract that are willing to move for a pay rise.

Why do they have to play second fiddle? Sign players better than what we have, and play them. Make the competition even more fierce because buying second fiddle players does not raise the bar.

I feel that trying to buy in players of that quality in January risks breaking the cohesion of the team that exists at the moement, the thing that is making us successful.  Big signings should  be a summer thing so they have time to bed in and don't upset the dressing room.  Also those type of players aren't generally available in January unless 1:they are being forced out of a team 2: are trying to engineer a move or, 3: they have only 6 months on their contract.  Except in the 3rd situation they are probably a player that isn't going to have the attitude we need at VP.  Just my opinion.

I agree with this. January is the market of the desperate and we’ve been there plenty of times in recent years. Emery and his team are much too well organised to make signings to just add numbers. Nothing has changed since the last window closed and in fact he has two more players fit that he didn’t have on 1 Sept.

I think we will only see incomings if any of the peripheral squad push for a move, or we get significant injuries in the next few weeks - and they may only be short term loans.

[pauliewalnuts]

Finding quality players that are willing to play second fiddle is the main problem here. If we can establish ourselves as regular performers in the top 4 that will become easier.  As it stands we will look for either first team starters, young and talented or end of contract that are willing to move for a pay rise.

Why do they have to play second fiddle? Sign players better than what we have, and play them. Make the competition even more fierce because buying second fiddle players does not raise the bar.

I feel that trying to buy in players of that quality in January risks breaking the cohesion of the team that exists at the moement, the thing that is making us successful.  Big signings should  be a summer thing so they have time to bed in and don't upset the dressing room.  Also those type of players aren't generally available in January unless 1:they are being forced out of a team 2: are trying to engineer a move or, 3: they have only 6 months on their contract.  Except in the 3rd situation they are probably a player that isn't going to have the attitude we need at VP.  Just my opinion.

I agree with this. January is the market of the desperate and we’ve been there plenty of times in recent years. Emery and his team are much too well organised to make signings to just add numbers. Nothing has changed since the last window closed and in fact he has two more players fit that he didn’t have on 1 Sept.

I think we will only see incomings if any of the peripheral squad push for a move, or we get significant injuries in the next few weeks - and they may only be short term loans.

What if he wants to make signings to add quality rather than just numbers?

We signed Moreno in January, didn't we? And that was despite having Lucas Digne in that position.

[DrGonzo]

There are obviously exceptional players that might be available. What we don’t need is to go out and Chuck money at a Joao Felix type player who’s going to turn up with attitude and expect to be a walk in for the first team. Every player has to earn the right to play.

[ChicagoLion]

Pretty sure that if one of our targets becomes gettable we will get him.

[Footy-Vill]

Granted, but signings must be done during the winter window otherwise nothing till summer. For me given our current situation, we can't and I believe won't stand still with no transfers.

Anyone here would be glad if there were no incomings? I can see how adding players could throw things out of balance or coherence.
I'm not viewing it that way but get the argument and I believe Monchi will make transfers during the transfer window.

I wouldn't be best pleased if we made no moves because I would feel like a chance was lost and think work has been ongoing since the summer to bring in required players to the squad this January

[OCD]

There's no point in buying for the sake of buying though. We'll have targets and presumably we'll try to get them, but if we can't get them I'd prefer we waited until the summer to get them than to bring someone in who isn't as good and blocks their pathway in the summer.

[paul_e]

Last January
Arsenal signed Trossard £27m and Jorginho £12m

Cody Gakpo and Antony Gordon were signed for £45m
Newcastle finished 4th
Liverpool finished 5th

Chelsea in January were someone rampant
Enzo Fernandez £105m
Mykhailo Mudryk - Shakhtar Donetsk, £88m
Benoit Badiashile - £35m
Noni Madueke - £29m
Malo Gusto - £26.3m
Joao Felix - Loan

This January. Important to strengthen squad.
I think Villa have to bring one or two strong, quality players and excited to see who is coming in.

Sorry to go back a way but I've bene busy all day and I think some context is needed here.

on 31/12/22

Arsenal were top.
Newcastle were 3rd.
Chelsea were 9th.

All of them finished lower in the table after making the signings listed above. Only Liverpool improved (from 6th to 5th).

What this shows is that how much (or little) you spend isn't really what matters in January. There are 2 types of signings that work well in this window. You can sign players you don't intend to play but have picked up 'early' and that has little impact either way (Duran for example) or you can sign players who fill a specific need and that you're confident won't disrupt the squad.

Of those above I'd say Trossard was the latter (but got countered a little by Jorginho who was a weird signing) and Gakpo. That's why Liverpool improved and Arsenal were done by the Saliba injury more than the window.

I think we really need to bear this in mind in the window, it might well look, at the end of January, like we've been unambitious or left gaps again but I think if that happens it will, again, be down to Emery choosing to take a risk rather than gambling on players he's not sure are right. The summer is the window where you can afford to chance your arm a little and I think we did that with Zaniolo but this window is as much about not rocking the boat as it is about filling gaps. That's why I can see it being 1 bigger signing and then 1-2 kids at most.

[SamTheMouse]

Agree with that, Paul.

[IFWaters]

Picking through the garbage of the united squad are there any we can offer European football to?

[astonvilla82]

Picking through the garbage of the united squad are there any we can offer European football to?

They got a England international defender who is strongly rated by the England manager Gareth Super Southgate