The January Transfer Thread 2022

[sirdennis]

Yup. The next stop is to be able to offer European football.

 

[Platypus]

I trust the club to get it right, as they've pretty much consistently done since NSWE took over, so I won't be losing any sleep about it. I expect their scouting operation is better than mine and I fully expect the DM role to be sorted one way or another, internally or via a transfer by the start of next season.

 

["Merd"]

You have to say Juventus got the bargain of this transfer window. The problem from this point onwards is that the level of players we now want all
want Champions league football. I doubt Zakaria would have been willing to come to Villa, the same probably applies to Kamara. It will be up to SG, Lange and Purslow to convince these type of players that the CL is realistic in the not too distant future.

Cough Philippe "Magician" Coutinho - for free Cough!!!!

I rest my case

 

[1958Villan]

Cough Philippe "Magician" Cortinho - for free Cough!!!!

I rest my case

Special case, where we were willing to take a chance on PC regaining fitness and some form, other higher placed clubs were not. Understandable from their point of view I suppose, especially given his gigantic wage. Who could have guessed he'd be willing to take a near 50% pay-cut. And of course the clincher, the special relationship between PC and our manager.

 

[The French Connection]

Cough Philippe "Magician" Coutinho - for free Cough!!!!

I rest my case

Only a loan though for the moment whereas Zakaria was purchased for 4 million. 40 million for Coutinho in June is still a lot of money. He will have to play well between now and the end of the season to justify parting with that amount of money. Admittedly the early signs are promising though.

 

["Merd"]

Special case, where we were willing to take a chance on PC regaining fitness and some form, other higher placed clubs were not. Understandable from their point of view I suppose, especially given his gigantic wage. Who could have guessed he'd be willing to take a near 50% pay-cut. And of course the clincher, the special relationship between PC and our manager.

Who said anyone else was after him - we came, we saw, we signed him up . All done and dusted before anyone else was awake. Definitely the signing of the window for me and at £6m wages (or whatever it actually is) there was no risk attached.

 

[david-avfc]

Yes the problem is for us in order to bridge the gap to the top 6 teams we need more players who have the quality to play at that level… but then those players will all want to play for ready-made top 6 clubs, or top 3 or 4 clubs in foreign leagues. It’s a chicken an egg scenario for us and it’s easy to see why breaking in is so difficult and why so many clubs stagnate in the mid table pack. It’s easy to identify good players - but identifying good transfer targets is a completely different thing entirely and there needs to be some ingenuity in our approach (or alternatively a hell of a lot of money thrown at wages and agent fees)

 

[Silhillvilla]

Only a loan though for the moment whereas Zakaria was purchased for 4 million. 40 million for Coutinho in June is still a lot of money. He will have to play well between now and the end of the season to justify parting with that amount of money. Admittedly the early signs are promising though.

It's very early to say on PC. A brilliant cameo v Yanited followed by a fairly anonymous 65 mins at Goodison. Judge him after say 6-7 games we might get a better picture

 

[JP Healy]

Yes the problem is for us in order to bridge the gap to the top 6 teams we need more players who have the quality to play at that level… but then those players will all want to play for ready-made top 6 clubs, or top 3 or 4 clubs in foreign leagues. It’s a chicken an egg scenario for us and it’s easy to see why breaking in is so difficult and why so many clubs stagnate in the mid table pack. It’s easy to identify good players - but identifying good transfer targets is a completely different thing entirely and there needs to be some ingenuity in our approach (or alternatively a hell of a lot of money thrown at wages and agent fees)

On a positive note,we have an exceptional group of youth players. Hopefully we can repeat the Fergie Flegelings with that amazing crop of talent, Giggs,Beckham, Scholes et Al. We old timers have seen many youngsters fail to make the grade but the current crop do look exceptional. Agree David that making the jump from mid table doldrums is not easy but we appear, atm, to have clued up owners who are prepared to invest serious money. Stadium improvements and strong demand for tickets suggest that Aston Villa have every chance of progressing to become members of the big boys league.

 

[CDX_EIRE]

Yes the problem is for us in order to bridge the gap to the top 6 teams we need more players who have the quality to play at that level… but then those players will all want to play for ready-made top 6 clubs, or top 3 or 4 clubs in foreign leagues. It’s a chicken an egg scenario for us and it’s easy to see why breaking in is so difficult and why so many clubs stagnate in the mid table pack. It’s easy to identify good players - but identifying good transfer targets is a completely different thing entirely and there needs to be some ingenuity in our approach (or alternatively a hell of a lot of money thrown at wages and agent fees)

When you have some momentum its easier to do and you have to sustain it. We fell down in the past because MoN wouldn't bring in a player who could push us on. Anytime you're trying to break from one level to the next you have to sustain the momentum. I fully agree with the assessment there about good targets or money. I think to do we've identified good targets as we evolved from Championship to relegation battlers, to mid-table and now pushing into top 10 and European places.

The key for us will be having the ambition to maintain momentum as we break through each level. West Ham may have spurned a golden opportunity this window to really go and secure 4th. Leicester have fell down at every hurdle because they haven't made difficult decisions and replaced players who weren't good enough. There is no reason why they couldn't have taken Martinez for instance and I guess thats where the "right transfer targets" come into play.

Digne looks a mix of right target and money as does Coutinho and we'll probably have a mix of that moving forward. Its good we're not just diving into transfers, its okay with missed Zakaria and Bentancur because you need only look at Everton when you get trigger happy.

 

[sirdennis]

In theory it should be easier to attract a higher calibre of player as we have a high profile manager, a world class training centre , a fantastic stadium and superb support. It certainly has been the case in the January window.

 

[Melon Donkey]

It's very early to say on PC. A brilliant cameo v Yanited followed by a fairly anonymous 65 mins at Goodison. Judge him after say 6-7 games we might get a better picture

Yes, it is certainly good to be consistent. I mean 6 or 7 games to judge an ex Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern and current Brazilian international certainly compares to the 4 years and a loan at Forest that Keinan is getting judged on.

 

[1958Villan]

Who said anyone else was after him - we came, we saw, we signed him up . All done and dusted before anyone else was awake. Definitely the signing of the window for me and at £6m wages (or whatever it actually is) there was no risk attached.

Well if you'd read what I wrote, it wasn't me who said other sides were after Coutinho.

 

[Silhillvilla]

In theory it should be easier to attract a higher calibre of player as we have a high profile manager, a world class training centre , a fantastic stadium and superb support. It certainly has been the case in the January window.

Gerrard proving already he has the aura and gravitas to attract elite players . It would of been a very different window last summer if the club had been more decisive at the time. I'm sure there are a few regrets there from Purslow etc. Either way, time to kick on now

 

[Melon Donkey]

 

["Merd"]

Well if you'd read what I wrote, it wasn't me who said other sides were after Coutinho.

I was being a bit flippant - "don't care, we got him" type of thing