Summer 26 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[Brazilian Villain]

NEW: Aston Villa are keeping a very close eye on Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli (24).

Just need to update the Tuanzebe song if we sign him.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

NEW: Aston Villa are keeping a very close eye on Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli (24).
@manu_colchon
@deportesDDS

You might like this fella, Paul, he's listed as the fastest player in the top 5 European leagues in 24/25 - 35.5km/hour. No idea what he's like with a ball though.

EDIT: Put it like this, if Watkins (assuming he's still here/we can't get rid/he's still blackmailing Unai/he scores a hattrick next Wednesday night) doesn't score 40 goals next season with this lad in the team he'll want shooting. Left sided attacker and given the price, a possible replacement for Rogers. €60m buy-out clause. A lot of interest as you'd expect.

[Sexual Ealing]

NEW: Aston Villa are keeping a very close eye on Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli (24).
@manu_colchon
@deportesDDS

You might like this fella, Paul, he's listed as the fastest player in the top 5 European leagues in 24/25 - 35.5km/hour. No idea what he's like with a ball though.

I wonder how long the ruptured hamstring sustained in the friendly at Walsall will keep him out for. Of course, he'll never be the same player again.

[paul_e]

I don't think the summer overhaul needed is quite as major as is being made out.  At the end of the day, the squad we have now has qualified for Europe 4 seasons out of 4 under Emery. Champions League at least once, hopefully twice, a Conference League semi-final, and Europa League final (hopefully winners).  We're a good side.

Plus, it's perfectly normal for players to be still playing at a top level through to their mid 30s (34-36), so players like Matty Cash or Ezri Konsa - both 28 years old - will have a few more seasons in them before we have to seriously consider replacing them.  Most of the players hitting that mid 30s range are squad players, so replacing them with younger models (which I assume is what Olabe has been brought in to do) is the right thing to do as far as I'm concerned.  Get in younger players who will be happy as Champions League squad players with the longer term aim of transitioning them in to first team regulars, whilst the current (older) first team players drop to more of a 'squad player' status.

I think you're perhaps underestimating the challenge ahead.  Our squad is old, because many of those we bought in their early twenties have developed and met the challenges as we've improved as a club.  This is a GOOD thing.  But it also means we have the core of the team all getting old at the same time.

By this time next season, all of these players will be in their 30s (some WELL into them):

Big Emi
Mings
Digne
Barkley
Lindelof
McGinn
Watkins
Tielemens
Buendia
Pau

Then you'll have Konsa and Cash at 29, and even young Bouba will be 27.

That is a VERY high age profile, and a lot of players to move on in potentially one or two windows.  To replace the above players properly, we need to be signing 2 or 3 younger players capable of being first-team ready players in each of the next three close seasons.  That way, in three years time, none of those players in the 30s group is unlikely to be close to our first-11.

You are right, however, in that they could ALL potentially play to the same level next season, but then we're just another season closer to the cliff-edge where they could all drop off together and leave us with a massive squad overhaul and potential transitional period where we're not as competitive.

Having them all age out together is a sign we recruited really well in the past, but it's something we absolutely HAVE to start addressing this summer.

That list is a little misleading though and really should be split in 3:

Actual first XI players:
Martinez
McGinn
Watkins
Tielemans
Pau

Who, McGinn aside and ignoring GKs, are mostly the younger players you've listed.

Then you have Digne and Buendia who are rotation players.

Then you have Barkley, Mings Lindelof who are clearly backup options.

They do all need to be replaced still but 5 of them can be replaced with players who might need 12months to settle rather than with people to hit the ground running, which makes a big difference and means we can, potentially, use our youth teams to try to fill those gaps first before we really push into the market for squad filler. This is where signings like Alysson, Madjo, Cisse, etc all become valuable because we've paid much less for them in the hopes that they can develop to replace players currently in the squad.