Summer Transfer Window (2024/25)

[juanpabloangel18]

32 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

it would be madness not to sign another CB  

Especially if Ezri is required at RB for a decent chunk of games

[PaulMcGrath_5]

I’m not overreacting when I say, it’s literally the same every single transfer window from the same posters.

Doom and gloom, everything is terrible. Blah blah blah. 
It’ll be the same regardless of how well we do in January and next summer too.

Edited August 3 by PaulMcGrath_5

[daggy_333]

4 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

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. 

Have Man Utd really improved? Zirkzee is young and isn't guaranteed to start. Watkins made Yoro look pretty average when we played Lille plus he's out for the first 2 months of the season. 

[Leeroy]

1 minute ago, daggy_333 said:

Have Man Utd really improved? Zirkzee is young and isn't guaranteed to start. Watkins made Yoro look pretty average when we played Lille plus he's out for the first 2 months of the season. 

I think those 2 signings are really clever and not the ones they would usually make, but Yoro being out for 2 months has put a spanner in the works. Maybe I’m overrating them but I do think they’ll be a fair bit better than last season. 

[nick76]

8 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

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. 

Arsenal - Yes

Liverpool - No plus lost Klopp

Spurs - No, Gray for the future

Newcastle - No

Chelsea - No currently, in fact got a lot worse imo.

Man Utd - Yes, slightly imo. Yoro (injured unfortunately) but I think he’s not ready yet for the PL imo but is an immense talent. Zirkzee is unknown for me, I just don’t understand what he’s going to do for Man Utd in the system ETH plays.

Us - Yes, but mixed with losing Luiz and Diaby but adding Onana and Maatsen and loads of depth.  I think our squad depth is much stronger but our starting first eleven is weaker plus we have a CB weakness and a forward weakness.

Still plenty of time left in the window.

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

1 hour ago, El-Reacho said:

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.

I think he’s underrated personally and will be a good signing for them. Seen enough of him over the last couple of years to see he has genuine quality. A German Giroud almost

[nick76]

10 minutes ago, PaulMcGrath_5 said:

I’m not overreacting when I say, it’s literally the same every single transfer window from the same posters.

Doom and gloom, everything is terrible. Blah blah blah. 
It’ll be the same regardless of how well we do in January and next summer too.

I think some people look for perfection, to fix every problem all at the start of the window when it never happens for any team mostly.

[Jas10]

27 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.

That’s fine, it’s ok to have some concerns and point things out but we’re not near the end of the window. Don’t see the need to fret or expect failure or regression.

I wasn’t attacking you btw, just responding to the general wave of negativity and pessimism. Not just on here, there’s a lot on places like Twitter too. It’s quite surprising, to me at least. Yeah, you’re not the most negative.

I think the club and Unai have done everything to win our trust and faith after all they have achieved on the pitch so far… 

It would be nice for more of us fans to appreciate what we have done, how good we actually are and not keep writing us off. We have showed we can compete with anyone on our day, we have an incredible manager.

There is nothing to suggest that we won’t be doing more business, so let’s just see how things pan out. The time for judgement calls on that is when the window has closed.

[The_Steve]

32 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

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.

It’s not a short term signing if he’s getting a three year deal with a one year extension. It’s mind boggling. 
 

They are also signing a 30-year-old Argentinian midfielder from Betis that nobody touched since the Barca deal fell through. 
 

They’ve spent over £40m on Kilman too and signed some lad from Brazil and potentially Summerville. 
 

We finished 16 points above them despite all our injuries. West Ham were eight points below United in 9th. They’ve got a lot of work to do to even crack the top 8. 

Even the for teams around us haven’t improved greatly, that Spurs defence looks very suspect still. Instead, they’ve been signing big prospects in midfield or upfront. 

[Leeroy]

13 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

That’s fine, it’s ok to have some concerns and point things out but we’re not near the end of the window. Don’t see the need to fret or expect failure or regression.

I wasn’t attacking you btw, just responding to the general wave of negativity and pessimism. Not just on here, there’s a lot on places like Twitter too. It’s quite surprising, to me at least. Yeah, you’re not the most negative.

I think the club and Unai have done everything to win our trust and faith after all they have achieved on the pitch so far… 

It would be nice for more of us fans to appreciate what we have done, how good we actually are and not keep writing us off. We have showed we can compete with anyone on our day, we have an incredible manager.

There is nothing to suggest that we won’t be doing more business, so let’s just see how things pan out. The time for judgement calls on that is when the window has closed.

Yeah I agree let’s see how things go over the next few weeks. I think we all agree that an exciting signing or 2 will increase the optimism. 

[Jas10]

2 hours ago, allani said:

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). 

That should give us more assurance and confidence really…

Opposition fans seem to be bigging us up more than our own

Seen a lot of “they’re gonna be a problem” after we signed Onana…

this is what I like

[Jas10]

Just now, Leeroy said:

Yeah I agree let’s see how things go over the next few weeks. I think we all agree that an exciting signing or 2 will increase the optimism. 

We have no idea what we have lined up or are working on…

like I said, Twitter etc isn’t a good guide for that. We simply cannot know.

Yeah, a “big” signing or two should lift the mood for some.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Jas10 said:

That should give us more assurance and confidence really…

Opposition fans seem to be bigging us up more than our own

Seen a lot of “they’re gonna be a problem” after we signed Onana…

this is what I like

Had the same the other day, a group of people I was with kept saying Villa could win the league, I was shocked to hear that.

[nick76]

2 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

That should give us more assurance and confidence really…

Opposition fans seem to be bigging us up more than our own

Seen a lot of “they’re gonna be a problem” after we signed Onana…

this is what I like

Every day I get more excited about what Onana can become, he has everything for that central midfield and with Emery’s coaching…

[Jas10]

2 hours ago, allani said:

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.

I know it’s an isolated incident so maybe not great/useful as a guide but… that goal we conceded against Spurs, when Maddison got in between Pau and Ezri and scored from a cross, really concerned me… 

Not a player that’s known for excelling there but he still beat our first choice CBs to the ball there… I really don’t think that happens if we had Mings or a similar player in that position.

I think Unai favours and is probably right/justified in playing Ezri at RB (and he alternates between positions well) and use his defensive speed, nous and skill there against dangerous attackers/wingers while trying to partner Pau with a more physical and dominant CB. If it’s a case of “either or” I would personally prioritise a dominant CB over a RB but we may well sign both. I’m enthused about Nedeljkovic also…

If not for the injury, I think Mings, Pau and Konsa together would’ve been brilliant and strong last season. Mings was the leader and organiser of that defence too and really controlled our positioning and the line so well. He commands that department really well and maybe that’s what we missed most of all - a true leader back there. I will credit Ezri for stepping up and doing well but I don’t think he’s quite there in that respect. Maybe Pau to a degree but he doesn’t have that “power”…

I’m fussed about clean sheets… because I want Emi to get more of them and break the record (we’ve let him down in that sense, he performed heroics and deserves more of them) just like I want Ollie to break the goalscoring record!

Yeah, I think solidifying midfield is going to help a lot too and we will “screen” the defence better this season, relieving more pressure.

Edited August 3 by Jas10

[Jas10]

10 minutes ago, Dodgyknees said:

Had the same the other day, a group of people I was with kept saying Villa could win the league, I was shocked to hear that.

Not saying it’s gonna happen… but we were well up there with a depleted squad last season. The drop off after the City win was a shame and we weren’t great for most of 2024. We were special in 2023.

Hopefully, we’ve ensured we won’t suffer as much from injuries, suspensions and fatigue this time around…

I would like to see us close the gap… the top 3 ended up being miles ahead on points.

I’m pleased to see Unai getting more recognition and praise from out there… he is the key.

[Guest]

Just now, Jas10 said:

Not saying it’s gonna happen… but we were well up there with a depleted squad last season. The drop off after the City win was a shame and we weren’t great for most of 2024. We were special in 2023.

Hopefully, we’ve ensured we won’t suffer as much from injuries, suspensions and fatigue this time around…

I would like to see us close the gap… the top 3 ended up being miles ahead on points.

I’m pleased to see Unai getting more recognition and praise from out there… he is the key.

Spot on. And I think we will add a few more faces too which helps. Plus having the long term injured back adds to numbers.

[El-Reacho]

3 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?

There’s no way he’d drop £40m on maatsen as a new LB when we’ve got two good quality starters in that position still at the club - but still consider us to have enough starting quality CBs. He’s definitely doing some spin there I reckon.

[Jas10]

1 hour 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  

Good point, Pau had some issues with injuries/knocks/strains and wasn’t at 100% a lot of the time. Carlos even moreso, found it hard to string performances together or even to play consecutive games iirc. Ezri is very reliable. We don’t know how Mings is going to fare but I would love to see him back to his best and completely avoid any issues - is that realistic though?

My inner fear is complacency… we have to step up this season and take a big leap into CL… we need to be stronger and not just think that our squad/team is “fine”. We need it to be as strong as possible… I have belief that it will be once the window has closed. “Ok” or “decent” players are not going to cut it and we can’t expect too much from our youngsters, too soon,

We need at least one good CB, probably another with Carlos likely to leave.

As a last resort, I wouldn’t be completely against another Lenglet loan but I want better and a more lasting/reliable solution.

We can’t always take what Unai says at face value… he did say it was going to be a quiet summer  
 

[Jas10]

22 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Every day I get more excited about what Onana can become, he has everything for that central midfield and with Emery’s coaching…

I agree… I’m astounded at how young he is and how good he seems to be already. Just imagine the development and improvement Unai can bring about in him. Could be special if he sticks around for the long term, he’s lucky to get to learn under this manager.

I think he and Youri will be our fist choice partnership and bring the best out in each other. I’m encouraged about Barrenechea too. Assuming they’re the 3 main players there but I could be wrong.

I really don’t know about Barkley but could be surprised…

We have options at least. It’s a shame about Dougie and what we have lost but I think our strategy is changing and the forward players will have to take on more of the creative burden while our midfielders make us much more formidable and tougher to beat or score against.

I’m excited about seeing us dominate and not be dominated…