Summer Transfer Window (2024/25)

[PaulC]

7 hours ago, Tomaszk said:

Something slightly chilling from Unai, post Red Bull.

In summary "Mings will be available after September...Konsa is back soon...with those two we have enough centre backs"

I'm hoping I misunderstood. I heartily disagree.

I cannot see how Monchi wouldn't disagree. It's a clear quality gap in the squad IMO. Much more pressing than...for example...João Felix.

Could all be part of a long negotiation game I suppose.

To throw out a few names who could be of interest...Wilfried Singo, Koni De Winter. Quite like Anthony Rouault as well but he'll be settled at Stuttgart until at least January.

He's right though we have four cbs. We have to sell one before we sign another.

[MSvillain]

7 hours ago, Tomaszk said:

Something slightly chilling from Unai, post Red Bull.

In summary "Mings will be available after September...Konsa is back soon...with those two we have enough centre backs"

I'm hoping I misunderstood. I heartily disagree.

I cannot see how Monchi wouldn't disagree. It's a clear quality gap in the squad IMO. Much more pressing than...for example...João Felix.

Could all be part of a long negotiation game I suppose.

To throw out a few names who could be of interest...Wilfried Singo, Koni De Winter. Quite like Anthony Rouault as well but he'll be settled at Stuttgart until at least January.

FPL Villain also suggested that CB was a priority and he gets some info it seems like, I think Unai is being a bit 'deceptive' there with his comments, for want of a better word

[allani]

9 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Patience is required and appreciation for what we have done so far… we have got the rest of the month to sort our business and aren’t privy to what’s going on. Links and rumours on social media aren’t a good guide (much of it is completely fabricated) nor provide a clear picture of what is happening behind the scenes. For the most part, it is what it is - speculation. And that should be fun

It all takes time, sometimes we have to wait for the dominoes to fall too… things won’t go according to the timescales we set and demands we make. We have no power, control or influence. And that’s a good thing! 

Might be worth remembering that for all the fretting and bedwetting that was going on, we DID manage to get CL football after all. We would do well to learn from that rather than repeat the same behaviour… or apply it to other subjects.

We don’t fear anyone nor should we feel inferior… we proved we were the 4th best team in the league last season (while beating and dominating the champions and beating the runners up TWICE!) and we did that on merit. With plenty of toil and effort and challenges to overcome. The league table does not lie, does it?

I’m not on board with a  fear of regression either… Unai (and NSWE) has made his intentions quite clear and committed his future to the club. He has rocketed us into a level and status we (or everyone!) did not think we could achieve… and there is much more to come.

We should learn to have trust and faith in Unai (backed up by Monchi) and yes, again, be patient and understanding. We have taken magnificent and unforeseen strides (no one saw any of this happening or could even have imagined it being a possibility before King Unai arrived), we have a lot to be grateful for and it’s best to enjoy the ride rather than complain and raise doubts all the time. It’s kind of disappointing from us as a fanbase really… and it happens a lot, when it really shouldn’t. Can we ever be pleased?

It's funny isn't it.  Almost every one of my non Villa supporting friends is banging on about how brilliant our signings have been and how strong we will be this season.  They look the signings of a UCL top team left-back, a very highly rated Belgian international midfielder and loads of promising young players.  They're almost all saying that our business has been much better than the business done by their teams and how worried they are that we'll either leave them behind (those who support teams that finished below us last season) or that we might catch them this season (those supporting teams that finished above us). 

[allani]

9 hours ago, paul514 said:

Yep, just needs the right partner, someone good at a lot of defensive duties, quick and aggressive 

With the signing of some good aerial players in midfield (Onana, Enzo and Barkley) I think we'll be much better at defending set pieces this season.  I think Maatsen will prevent crosses from our left.  So I would prefer to get a really good RB to do similar on the other side and stick with Konsa and Pau in the middle.  We then need a better / more reliable covering CB than Carlos and (if he leaves) a replacement for him.  Then it comes down to how fit, strong and quick Mings is.  The latest news seems more positive in terms of him starting to train with the team from next week and probably being available for selection in September (by which I assume the end of Sept rather than the start).

At the end of the day the way we play under Emery we're more likely to win 2-1 than 1-0.  So I'm less fussed about clean sheets.  I think the strengthening of the midfield defensively and the added height we have will address some of the issues we had in the second half of the season.  Konsa and Pau provide a great platform from which to control possession and I think the more they play together the better they will become as a partnership.  I'd rather Konsa played at CB than RB.

[DakotaVilla]

Fulkrug is possibly the worst signing of many windows. 30m and a three year contract to a player who turns 32 in feb and has never been particularly high scoring. The template deal to avoid after a half decent euros. 

[nick76]

1 hour ago, Sam-AVFC said:

Dunno 'bout that one

Really? It’s not just me but you can see over the West Ham forums the same discussion.  Anyway that’s their issue not ours…I doubt with him and their purchases they will overtake us as it was suggested plus we are still likely to add more during this window.

[JPAngel]

1 hour ago, Jareth said:

Great pick up. I suppose if Carlos goes then we don't have enough CBs, so all eyes on that deal if it happens. 

Absolutely. It sounds like his target is four CBs and that's what we have. Though, as you said, we'll only be active if Carlos goes.

I'm sure the VT speculation train will ignore these facts though

[El-Reacho]

20 minutes ago, DakotaVilla said:

Fulkrug is possibly the worst signing of many windows. 30m and a three year contract to a player who turns 32 in feb and has never been particularly high scoring. The template deal to avoid after a half decent euros. 

Reckon it was probably those couple of goals he scored in Dortmund’s run in to the CL final that’s put him on teams’ radar. I’d never heard of him before about March of this year.

[tonyh29]

2 hours ago, JPAngel said:

I’m just now watching Unai’s post match press conference from the Leipzig game so apologies if this is old news.

He seems VERY clear that we are not in the market for a new centre back from the 7 minute mark. 

Not a direct quote but he essentially says that Mings will be back in September and we then have Konsa coming back from the Euros. He then specifically says that, once they are back, “we have enough centre backs”.

Has this been picked up already?

We have no idea what level Mings will be at  so potentially we are going into the season with 3 centre backs 

Pau missed a fair old few games with injury last season and Carlos picked up more than his fair few

it would be madness not to sign another CB  

[Kiwivillan]

3 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

We have no idea what level Mings will be at  so potentially we are going into the season with 3 centre backs 

Pau missed a fair old few games with injury last season and Carlos picked up more than his fair few

it would be madness not to sign another CB  

When is Kamara back? 2 seasons at CB for Marseille

[Leeroy]

10 hours ago, bobzy said:

Just sack it off pal. Nothing will ever be good enough. It’s not worth your time or worrying about it. 

No I love this club which is why I don’t want us going backwards.

 

Plus it’s a forum so I will raise concerns where I see fit.
 

I’m not going to be in denial that this transfer window has been all rosey when it clearly hasn’t been. 

[Leeroy]

10 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Patience is required and appreciation for what we have done so far… we have got the rest of the month to sort our business and aren’t privy to what’s going on. Links and rumours on social media aren’t a good guide (much of it is completely fabricated) nor provide a clear picture of what is happening behind the scenes. For the most part, it is what it is - speculation. And that should be fun

It all takes time, sometimes we have to wait for the dominoes to fall too… things won’t go according to the timescales we set and demands we make. We have no power, control or influence. And that’s a good thing! 

Might be worth remembering that for all the fretting and bedwetting that was going on, we DID manage to get CL football after all. We would do well to learn from that rather than repeat the same behaviour… or apply it to other subjects.

We don’t fear anyone nor should we feel inferior… we proved we were the 4th best team in the league last season (while beating and dominating the champions and beating the runners up TWICE!) and we did that on merit. With plenty of toil and effort and challenges to overcome. The league table does not lie, does it?

I’m not on board with a  fear of regression either… Unai (and NSWE) has made his intentions quite clear and committed his future to the club. He has rocketed us into a level and status we (or everyone!) did not think we could achieve… and there is much more to come.

We should learn to have trust and faith in Unai (backed up by Monchi) and yes, again, be patient and understanding. We have taken magnificent and unforeseen strides (no one saw any of this happening or could even have imagined it being a possibility before King Unai arrived), we have a lot to be grateful for and it’s best to enjoy the ride rather than complain and raise doubts all the time. It’s kind of disappointing from us as a fanbase really… and it happens a lot, when it really shouldn’t. Can we ever be pleased?

Let’s see where we are at the end of the month but as we are now I don’t feel we are stronger than last season whereas I see teams like West Ham as stronger.

 

Patience is all very well and good but the season starts in 2 weeks against West Ham of all teams and I wouldn’t be confident of winning that game as things stand.

 

But I’m not as negative as people like @Tayls who thinks we’ll lose our first 5 games.

[bobzy]

2 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

No I love this club which is why I don’t want us going backwards.

 

Plus it’s a forum so I will raise concerns where I see fit.
 

I’m not going to be in denial that this transfer window has been all rosey when it clearly hasn’t been. 

It’s basically impossible to constantly keep improving. Enjoying the ups and downs is what being a football fan is all about.

Finishing 7th, for example, would still be a good season for us but (as I’ve said before) I worry some of our fan base just can’t deal with that.

It’s absolutely insane. We’ve had our best season in God knows how long and people are worrying over a transfer window. It isn’t the game for you. Do something else that actually makes you happy. 

[Leeroy]

1 hour ago, MSvillain said:

I'd be absolutely furious with Monchi if we signed an injury riddled 31 year old for £25m.

As for very clinical; xG in Bundesliga was 12.9 and he actually scored 12, so he underperformed his xG rather than over performing which is what top finishers do

Fair enough, I didn’t know that stat, but he’s always looked a hell of a finisher whenever I’ve seen him for Germany. Don’t agree that he’s injury riddled either, but it is a short term signing given his age. If his goals help West Ham get into Europe though I’m sure they won’t care.

[jacketspuds]

Ideal situation for us, if we are still looking at signing Felix, would be to do a deal with Atletico that sees Duran going there as part of a PSR fudging swap.

[daggy_333]

3 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

Let’s see where we are at the end of the month but as we are now I don’t feel we are stronger than last season whereas I see teams like West Ham as stronger.

 

Patience is all very well and good but the season starts in 2 weeks against West Ham of all teams and I wouldn’t be confident of winning that game as things stand.

 

But I’m not as negative as people like @Tayls who thinks we’ll lose our first 5 games.

If you look at the rest of the Premier League, would you say many team have strengthened so far? There hasn't really even been many deals done.

[ferguson1]

I for one am very much looking forward to this season and believe we’ve done some very good business. Couple of further incomings, whether permanently or loans and it may just put some concerns to rest. For me a possible CB option and striker/forward will be enough.

People need to just chill a bit. A lot of moves happen in the final week/days of the window and that in turn could open up some targets for us that may not be available now. 

 

[Delphinho123]

Must admit, I’ll be a bit jealous of the Guehi deal if it goes through for Newcastle. I think he’d slot into our defence very nicely. No way we can afford that fee though unless we sell someone like Ramsey. And I wouldn’t advocate that.

I do find it weird the Saudis have targeted him though, they usually hate the Guehi’s. 

[CVByrne]

Hear me out on this one.

Lukaku would be an excellent signing for right price and wages. He is perfect profile for strike partner with Watkins. Especially the role he played at Inter for Conte. 

What people need to know about Lukaku is he's a player who drops deep on the right half space to link play. His physicality means he can drop into midfield and take ball under pressure and then find a teammate then get into the box. He's also an excellent finisher. 

Kane does this incredibly well also. Drops deep and has had Son there to find with passes. Watkins and Lukaku would be our Son and Kane. 

Additionally given his talents he will be a high class performer well into his 30s. He's just turned 31 a couple of months ago. 

Finally we know Emery is a huge fan and has been for years. Also Emery has a track record getting the best out of older players and seeing them as undervalued because of no sell on value. 

It's not crazy in terms of us being interested in him. I just don't know if he wants to play anywhere other than Italy. 

[Leeroy]

10 minutes ago, daggy_333 said:

If you look at the rest of the Premier League, would you say many team have strengthened so far? There hasn't really even been many deals done.

Arsenal and Man Utd probably have, West Ham have. Chelsea will if they get Osimhen. I sort of agree with you but none of the other teams that finished in the top 8 last season have sold anyone important unlike us.

 

Maybe I’m overreacting and everything will be fine, I’m just a bit concerned we may be done this window if we can’t shift players and may be stuck with Duran who hasn’t even been given a shirt number.