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

[maidstonevillain]

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

Sancho could do with a change of scenery. A loan to get him some game time?

[Baldy]

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

Sancho could do with a change of scenery. A loan to get him some game time?

We should do Man Utd no favours. Let them keep their massive bomb squad, it will ruin them even more financially.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe must be thinking twice this morning!! Wonder if he was delaying signing deal with United pending outcome of Champions League?

Just a thought.

[algy]

Good post, paul_e. I agree with you completely

[Mister E]

Good post, paul_e. I agree with you completely

I'll join you in that.

[Behind Bluenose Lines]

Is it true that Douglas Luiz has a £100 million valuation and he wants to leave in January? We'd better tie him down then: we can't let him go!

[darren woolley]

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.

Great post Paul.

[pauliewalnuts]

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

Sancho could do with a change of scenery. A loan to get him some game time?

Wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole.

[Monty]

Yeah the no-est of noes from me Clive.

[Holte L2]

If we could loan Firmino from the Saudi Pro-League then I think that would be a good fit for us as a back-up for Ollie.  And has experience of winning titles.

[pauliewalnuts]

If we could loan Firmino from the Saudi Pro-League then I think that would be a good fit for us as a back-up for Ollie.  And has experience of winning titles.

Imagine the sort of money he'll be on there. No chance at all.

[Tayls_7]

If we could loan Firmino from the Saudi Pro-League then I think that would be a good fit for us as a back-up for Ollie.  And has experience of winning titles.

Imagine the sort of money he'll be on there. No chance at all.

He has too many much teeth.

[tomd2103]

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

Just on that point - would players who have featured in the Champions League or Europa League this season be Cup tied for the Conference League if we signed them in January?

[AV84]

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

Just on that point - would players who have featured in the Champions League or Europa League this season be Cup tied for the Conference League if we signed them in January?

They're not cup tied but you can only register 3 new players in your A squad, and it still has to stay at 24 or 25, whatever the maximum number is. I don't think we're at the maximum number with our squad, but if we were we'd have to take players off to register the new ones.

[paul_e]

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

Just on that point - would players who have featured in the Champions League or Europa League this season be Cup tied for the Conference League if we signed them in January?

They're not cup tied but you can only register 3 new players in your A squad, and it still has to stay at 24 or 25, whatever the maximum number is. I don't think we're at the maximum number with our squad, but if we were we'd have to take players off to register the new ones.

We're not atthe maximum but we are limited by the home-grown/club-grown rules. The latter is the big problem because JJ is the only player in the squad that fills that so we're effectively capped at a 22man squad.

[AV84]

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

Just on that point - would players who have featured in the Champions League or Europa League this season be Cup tied for the Conference League if we signed them in January?

They're not cup tied but you can only register 3 new players in your A squad, and it still has to stay at 24 or 25, whatever the maximum number is. I don't think we're at the maximum number with our squad, but if we were we'd have to take players off to register the new ones.

We're not atthe maximum but we are limited by the home-grown/club-grown rules. The latter is the big problem because JJ is the only player in the squad that fills that so we're effectively capped at a 22man squad.

What about the 3rd keeper?

If we need to we can take Chambers, Traore and even Donk out. I'd be surprised if Donk isn't gone anyway. So that would allow for 3 new signings, if we were to make that many.