Wes

That has been said somewhere you're right (Birmingham Mail and/or The Athletic maybe). My thinking is that that specific requirement is for those players who will be, more often than not, playing in the Starting 11, such as Buendia. It makes sense that if you're paying a lot of money for Starting 11 players, you would like to know they've performed at a good level in the Premier League before. However for backup players (of which any new full back would be considering Cash was only purchased last year and Targett is signing a new deal) it makes sense to also consider utilising the continental markets where time and time again we have seen that bargains can be had. Now if someone like van Aanholt comes to us and is quite happy to understand his place in the current pecking order (Targett is the starter, you're the backup pushing him for his place) then that's great. Although I think PvA, Bertrand etc. are also likely to get offered either more playing time or higher wages at other teams (particularly Bertrand because he helps with the Home Grown issue) compared to us. It's about allocating the transfer kitty in the most efficient way possible. Also you've got to think with this being both Lange's and Mackenzie's first Summer window they've had adequate time to properly prepare for, I think it's more likely than not that we get someone from outside of the UK. Just my own opinion on the situation though. I've got a lot of faith with the current setup and are both excited and interested to see how they approach adding to the team over the Summer. They're already off to a great start.

Fantastic signing. The numbers speak for themselves. Also really like that he was our clear number 1 target for this summer and that we got him and got it done early. Also, by all reports, we were very convincing due to the nature of our approach which speaks highly of the vision that Lange, Smith and everyone in the staff conveyed to Buendia as well as the strong characters we currently have in charge at the club. Very promising indeed.

I think Lange will look to the continent for value for that backup to Targett role. We've been linked with Ghislain Konan from Reims which makes a lot of sense. 25yo - so can sign a 3/4 year contract and still have value. Has played International football before which helps with the new Work Permit rules. Most importantly he's only got one year left on his current contract so is a prime value transfer target as clubs hate losing players on frees. He would likely be "cheap" in the modern-day sense that it probably wont be in excess of £10m.

New development:

I expect some people will be watching the Argentina v Chile WC Qualifier tonight (or more likely the highlights tomorrow) to see if Martinez plays and perhaps Buendia too. One name I would also keep an eye on to see if he gets any minutes is Julian Alvarez. 20 year old wide forward/winger for River Plate who has been called up to the full National side for these set of qualifiers. Would be the kind of speculative signing for a talented youngster that I would like us to see us have a go at. His contract is up next year so I can see River cashing in this summer. With Emi and possibly Buendia at the team, we would be a very good environment for a young Argentinian to join in to (although he has already played in Europe - at Real Madrid as a youngster).

Agree with you completely. I had a general search around at likely available options this summer and I think you would be looking at someone like Djibril Sidibe from Monaco for a similar value (who was on loan at Everton for a year so would tick the prior Premier League player box) if you want an experienced player as backup. If you went for a younger backup there's plenty more options, but then you're adding another potential obstacle to Kesler's pathway to the First Team down the road and Cash is pretty young himself anyway. Unless a real potential talent becomes available (maybe someone from Barcelona B who are desperate for money) I personally would rather stick with Guilbert. He knows how we play and what Smith will ask of him. That's just my personal preference though. It'll be interesting to see what the powers that be at the Club decide.

Tough to decide what to do with Guilbert. He has two years left on his contract and has just had a great loan spell. It purely comes down to his character and Smith's view on him. His value is going to be at his highest right now if the club want to sell him. I believe we would need to bring someone in as backup if Fred was sold as it's too early for Kesler (who would definitely benefit from a loan spell out somewhere). My opinion would be to keep Fred one further year, send Kesler on loan, then reassess the position next summer.

Thank you Dean Smith.

Incredible! What a ride this thread has been so far this summer. It's not over yet, but this would be a truly amazing signing.

Appears to be back in training with the Werder Bremen team today.

The GFFN Article that references we've entered the race for Sarr is here.

Was clearly not happy coming off tonight, but I think between him and McGinn it was the correct call.

Signing of the summer without question. The quotes in the press release with reference to the Owners and also those about building the team around Jack are very, very encouraging.

With Traore and Rashica, the latter of which looks like it might go until the end of the window, do we think the only other addition may be this fabled Number 8 from the Continent that was mentioned on the Athletic podcast last week?

Agree. That's why I'm surprised we are in for him. I can't believe he was part of our transfer strategy for this summer - this would be more akin to an agent saying he's available and we just going ahead with it. That said he does tick a number of boxes as @PieFacE says above. I just feel like there's better options, personally.

He is almost sure to be leaving Lyon - he gave an interview whilst in Burkina Faso to that affect (link) Then yesterday reports from footmercato, Daily Mail and The Sun said we had put in a bid. All articles were separate - not referring to each other. It should also be noted that his agent has been offering him around to basically every Premier League team. I wouldn't class it as concrete until one of our more trusted sources reports on it. Our name could just be being used to drive up the price (much like Brighton's was with Martinez a few days ago).

L'Equipe reporting that Dijon's Mounir Chouiar isn't playing for them tomorrow ahead of a move. There was a small link to him for us in the Spring, although this article mentions Arsenal, Wolves and Leeds. Chouiar is who I really wanted us to go after alongside Rashica. He's going to be great. I'll hold out a little hope this is actually us involved!

Lyon fans are delighted someone is looking to buy him for a reason. Especially at that fee. This is a very sceptical move to me. Of course would support him should he arrive, but I think there are far better options out there for that kind of money.

A sceptical person may think that Brighton's name is being banded about just to drive the price up a bit more...

Great news about his injury recovery. Remember that Wesley played more of an unorthodox-10 at Brugge. He liked to drop deeper. There is plenty of space for both him and Watkins in the team, especially given Watkins versatility too. Above all it gives us options, not only in who plays, but how we play and the ability to change things up in the middle of the game should we need to. We didn't have this last season.

BBC Sport Africa have published a short video article about our fellow fans in Ghana. The Ghanaian village of Juaben is home to a huge number of fans of Aston Villa FC - and, after Villa secured safety on the last day of the season, they cannot wait for the Premier League to begin again. The man whose grandfather made Villa a big deal in this small part of West Africa explains to BBC Sport Africa how and why the village came to be obsessed with the Birmingham club. It's a great watch!