Summer 2025 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[eamonn]

They must be significantly better than us on wage negotiation.

Or the players they signed have over-performed relative to their rivals.

[Smithy]

They must be significantly better than us on wage negotiation.

I don't think it's a negotiating thing, I think their top players are all £100k-ish a week, which is a competitive Premier League salary, but also not enough to recruit top players capable of playing in (and expecting) European football each season. 

But with Forest, once you get down past the top 5 or 6 players, they're paying players £50k a week or less.  Much like we were for most of our squad players in the year or two after we first came up.  Today, we could field an entire 11 made up of players earning over £100k a week (and probably a couple of subs, too).  That's not bad negotiating on our part; that's just a reflection of the type of player we've recruited, retained, and our league position over the last three years.

If Forest get European football again in the next two years, I bet their wages look a lot closer to ours today than they do now. Because if they get that level of on-field success, one of two things will happen, they'll either pay those bigger wages to attract/keep the talent they need, or their best players (and highest earners) will be picked off by wealthier clubs. 

There is no reality where they continue being top-6/7 competitive over a number of seasons, while also having a wage bill half of ours.

Brighton are probably to closest any club has come to being able to do that, and they simply sell their best players at the point they'd have to be paying them £150k+ a week to keep them.  They've just been pretty good at replacing them with cheaper options capable of keeping them in the top-half.  Even then, they've only qualified for Europe once, I think?

It's not a coincidence that over any period of time, teams generally finish within a place or so of their position in the wages table.  Spurs and Man Utd were the anomalies last season, but over a period of years, average league position is almost identical to their average wage bill position for most clubs.

We pay wages commensurate with a club expecting to finish 6/7th place.

[VillaTim]

Selling first team players to rivals is an interesting strategy .

[Toronto Villa]

Selling first team players to rivals is an interesting strategy .

I very much doubt it's a strategy. A strategy involves intent. Unless you are suggesting Monchi, Unai and Damian sat in a room and planned this.

[PeterWithesShin]

Our 'rivals' are the clubs most likely to both want and be able to afford the fees and wages for our first team players, and are also the kind of clubs those players will be happy to join. I'm sure we'd have preferred to sell JJ to Burnley rather than Newcastle but even if Burnley could afford him he's not going to want to go there.

[PaulWinch again]

Jackson sounds like he wants to come and almost did before, to work with Emery.

If we can make it work financially, it could be a good move.

I don’t mind Jackson but if we are super tight on budget then surely a RCB and more flexible attacker have to be ahead on the priority list.

Oh I agree, by making it work financially I meant in the context of how much we can spend and what we need.

Yup agreed. I’m getting a little concerned that we’re leaving ourselves very exposed. We really need some quality in as it feels a bit negative at the moment (not helped by how we approached the game on Saturday). Hopefully it’ll start the look better pretty quickly.

[VillaTim]

Not sure we need Jackson. Pacey wide players more a priority .

[kippaxvilla2]

Matty has apparently requested to Cash out.

[cdbearsfan]

Not sure we need Jackson. Pacey wide players more a priority .

I'd be picking him as a pacey wide player. If we intend to sign him as a centre-forward, then it's a no from me. Especially if it means Watkins leaving.

[Matt C]

Jackson would be playing off the left as he did when he played for Emery originally as well as being the back up for Ollie, I’m guessing. Could be fun.

[Mister E]

The optics of selling our first-teamers to rival clubs is disconcerting.
I sincerely hope the club has some new talent coming in who can quickly become high-value bargains ...

[SaddVillan]

villareport (@villareport) posted at 2:29 pm on Wed, Aug 20, 2025:
🚨 Girona have agreed personal terms with Alex Moreno & deal now close. @Santi_J_FM #avfc
(https://x.com/villareport/status/1958159405720994008?s=03)

Need to see some incomings.

Down to the bare bones in terms of squad strength depth, although I'd move Barkley out - hardkly ever plays, why waste his wages when we could pay somebody else more likely to contribute/increase in value?

[PaulWinch again]

B

The optics of selling our first-teamers to rival clubs is disconcerting.
I sincerely hope the club has some new talent coming in who can quickly become high-value bargains ...

Yeah whether it is or not optically it looks quite negative at the moment. We need to start shifting momentum and start to look like we’re pushing forward. Cash is another one, I know people don’t like him but he’s a regular starter and I’d have serious doubts about our ability to replace him this late on. It’d have to be a crazy offer and even then I am concerned we are leaving ourselves far too much to do. Hopefully we’ll see an influx of players shortly.

[London Villan]

Other than Ramsey, no one we have let go has been anywhere near our first team for over a season.

I am confident we'll see two or three come in.

[PaulWinch again]

Other than Ramsey, no one we have let go has been anywhere near our first team for over a season.

I am confident we'll see two or three come in.

Well Bailey would have. I think there’s a more be general point around resilience to any volume of work injuries too.

Like you say hopefully there will be a few in, but it’s all one way at the moment.