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

[ChicagoLion]

Interesting from Unai. It changes the view most of us had that there was a degree of sign off from him on Monchi signings, beyond the formalities anyway.

I would imagine there is some discussion regarding the needs of the squad and merits of potential players.
My thoughts are that he believed his and Monchis ideas were aligned and then it became apparent they weren’t.

[Monty]

Also, fundamentally, I don't quite believe him!

[Dave]

Also, fundamentally, I don't quite believe him!

Indeed.

Also, if we're to take him at his word - well done to Monchi then for scouting and signing Rogers which Emery had nothing to do with.

[paul_e]

What he's saying clearly isn't 100% of the situation but I do think everything about him as a manager supports the idea of there being a meeting and him saying I think I have these gaps and largely leaving it to the back office team to find players. It'll then be something like "we can get this guy for £Xm which will fill that gap" and Emery simply taking a quick look (so 5-6 hours of highlights for him) and giving a thumbs up.

He likes control but I get the impression that it's as much by getting people to take responsibility for things he's trusted to them so that, as a collective, everything is in control. Look at the set pieces for example, he goes and sits down so McPhee can be the guy in the technical area, that's not a control freak who wants to own everything but rather someone who likes to have clear boundaries between responsibilities and will do everything he can to give people as much autonomy as they need.

So yes, if he knows a player he specifically wants to work with (Pau, Rogers) then he'll step in and ask for the team to chase them, otherwise I think he's pretty open to suggestions and willing to try working with players who might be 6-12 months away from ready to play for him. I think this is also a guideline for which players become indispensable. Buy into the plan completely like Watkins, Rogers and McGinn and he'll back you, even if the form isn't quite there.

For transfers specifically that creates a bit of a problem where some players have the right technical and physical attributes but they just don't fit attitude wise. That's difficult because it must be really hard to assess before they're in the camp and working with us.

[aj2k77]

Did anyone really think Unai had much of a hand in the Elliot and Sancho deals? They make no sense at all. Align that with Monchi getting his cards and it doesn't take Scooby Doo to work out what happened.

Monchi failed and got moved on.

[pauliewalnuts]

I’d love to know how the Elliott situation got to that absolute mess.

[Ianu]

I’d love to know more about the Malen transfer. Who initiated it? Was anyone opposed to it? Did we drive a hard enough bargain or was it us just being nice to a player who was worried about not playing enough and how that would affect his chances of getting into the World Cup squad.

[Dogtanian]

Did anyone really think Unai had much of a hand in the Elliot and Sancho deals? They make no sense at all. Align that with Monchi getting his cards and it doesn't take Scooby Doo to work out what happened.

Monchi failed and got moved on.

I think we can see some evidence in Elliot and Sancho.

Emery kept playing Sancho and he wouldn't have done that if he didn't feel he could deliver what he wanted. So I am guessing Emery approved of it.

Elliot was quickly removed and replaced by Buendia. Emery could have played him more without triggering the clause, but he didn't. So either he came and was completely different to what Emery expected he would be, or it wasn't a move Emery was fully behind and Buendia's renaissance gave him the out he needed.

[Dogtanian]

I’d love to know how the Elliott situation got to that absolute mess.

Wasn't there something about a misunderstanding of how FIFA dated the transaction for SCR purposes? Villa thought it would be dated at the end of the season, but it would have been either on the date the money became due or backdated to the start of the loan if we had triggered the clause?

I imagine that would have been firmly in Monchi's court as I am not sure Emery is going to be interested enough in the small print to do his football-level due diligence.

[LeeB]

I’d love to know how the Elliott situation got to that absolute mess.

Wasn't there something about a misunderstanding of how FIFA dated the transaction for SCR purposes? Villa thought it would be dated at the end of the season, but it would have been either on the date the money became due or backdated to the start of the loan if we had triggered the clause?

I imagine that would have been firmly in Monchi's court as I am not sure Emery is going to be interested enough in the small print to do his football-level due diligence.

I imagine it's exactly that kind of stuff he's referring to when trusting others to sort so he can focus wholly on the football and where Monchi bollocksed up. The way he singled Elliot out for criticism at Sunderland was a rare, rare thing for Emery and probably revealed how pissed off he was the whole thing given it looked like our season was falling apart.

[VILLA MOLE]

I’d love to know how the Elliott situation got to that absolute mess.

Wasn't there something about a misunderstanding of how FIFA dated the transaction for SCR purposes? Villa thought it would be dated at the end of the season, but it would have been either on the date the money became due or backdated to the start of the loan if we had triggered the clause?

I imagine that would have been firmly in Monchi's court as I am not sure Emery is going to be interested enough in the small print to do his football-level due diligence.

I imagine it's exactly that kind of stuff he's referring to when trusting others to sort so he can focus wholly on the football and where Monchi bollocksed up. The way he singled Elliot out for criticism at Sunderland was a rare, rare thing for Emery and probably revealed how pissed off he was the whole thing given it looked like our season was falling apart.

Sorry remind me what he said about Elliott

[Dogtanian]

“Some players need adaptation. For example, Harvey Elliott, a little bit he was getting the ball and so quick doing passes behind the defence without options.

He needs to understand, ‘Okay, Harvey, you have skills to play more passes, more passes, more passes, and then to do the pass behind, outside or inside,’ in better positions to get something more. And then, as well, we were lazy, sometimes defensively lazy. For example, the way we conceded we were lazy.”