The Summer 2020 Transfer Rumour Thread | Vital Football

The Summer 2020 Transfer Rumour Thread

Pride of Lions

I am now official
Yes, I know it's early, and we don't know if we will be PL or Championship (again) yet, but it appears that the club are looking forward, so why can't we.

To start the ball rolling, we'll start with Alexander Sorloth. Currently on loan with Trabzonspor, the Crystal Palace forward scored his 21st goal of the season last weekend and it's claimed we had scouts watching him for that match against Fenebache.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sp...exander-sorloth-aston-villa-transfer-17722983

Of course we won't be doing anything until the summer, but it's nice to see we are planning on the positive side.
 
Is it that time already? I’d better get on Fifa and use their player search function to find some players to recommend 🙄😉😂
 
I want us to focus on homegrown players. I think as a club we have always been more successful when we have a close knit group of british/Irish players.

Under MON we had the partnership of Young and Gabby, Dunne and Collins, we had Milner, Downing, Albrighton, Barry etc.

At present, we have arguably the most talented English player in the world and he bleeds claret and blue. He's pictured recently holidaying with Mings, but also Chilwell and Madison. We need to bring players in who fit into this social group and want to play together, play their way into the England squad.

Looking at our transfers in the last decade, they've been shambolic. How we got promoted is beyond me. Even in the last window, we seem to have made a lot of purchases using the head without the heart, using maths and stats rather than looking at individuals properly.

Players who have impressed in the last decade? Abraham, Tuanzebe, Mings, McGinn etc. We need to keep along this vein of purchases, bring in more like Konsa and Heaton who will fit in quickly.

Wesley and Douglas will probably both go on to have incredible careers, maybe at villa, probably not. We have signed a lot of foreign players who have gone on to do well without doing anything for us. Time to make purchases closer to home I think.
 
I don't agree with a 'homegrown' focus since these sorts of players come at in an incredible premium unless of course we do a much better job of recruiting talent into the academy, we have been appalling at this for decades but hopefully Louie Barry is a sign of this changing.

There's simply better value out there abroad as far as I'm concerned but we are a good example of not always doing it right.
 
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I want us to focus on homegrown players. I think as a club we have always been more successful when we have a close knit group of british/Irish players.

Under MON we had the partnership of Young and Gabby, Dunne and Collins, we had Milner, Downing, Albrighton, Barry etc.

At present, we have arguably the most talented English player in the world and he bleeds claret and blue. He's pictured recently holidaying with Mings, but also Chilwell and Madison. We need to bring players in who fit into this social group and want to play together, play their way into the England squad.

Looking at our transfers in the last decade, they've been shambolic. How we got promoted is beyond me. Even in the last window, we seem to have made a lot of purchases using the head without the heart, using maths and stats rather than looking at individuals properly.

Players who have impressed in the last decade? Abraham, Tuanzebe, Mings, McGinn etc. We need to keep along this vein of purchases, bring in more like Konsa and Heaton who will fit in quickly.

Wesley and Douglas will probably both go on to have incredible careers, maybe at villa, probably not. We have signed a lot of foreign players who have gone on to do well without doing anything for us. Time to make purchases closer to home I think.

So, we shouldn't have signed Mellberg, Laurson, Carew, JPA. We have signed players like Richards, Lescott, McCormack... Not a great advert for homegrown.

You need players who will fit in, not necessarily homegrown. The indications are that Samatta will fit in. He speaks the language, and he's not still learning his trade. The fact that he was captain not just of his club but of Tanzania shows a level of maturity. All his actions so far are positive; he doesn't need time to settle.
 
So, we shouldn't have signed Mellberg, Laurson, Carew, JPA. We have signed players like Richards, Lescott, McCormack... Not a great advert for homegrown.

You need players who will fit in, not necessarily homegrown. The indications are that Samatta will fit in. He speaks the language, and he's not still learning his trade. The fact that he was captain not just of his club but of Tanzania shows a level of maturity. All his actions so far are positive; he doesn't need time to settle.

The Premier League is still probably the hardest and most physical top league in Europe, so naturally it's better suited to British/Irish players, and 3 out of the 4 you mention are Scandinavians who also seem to adapt easily.

Of course a lot from abroad will also fit in, and I have big hopes for Samatta after seeing him. But some of the play-acting from our players this season has been embarrassing, not to mention how easily they can bottle games. And yes, I'm sure Hourihane will be mentioned here, but at least he doesn't go down like he's been shot.
 
So, we shouldn't have signed Mellberg, Laurson, Carew, JPA. We have signed players like Richards, Lescott, McCormack... Not a great advert for homegrown.

You need players who will fit in, not necessarily homegrown. The indications are that Samatta will fit in. He speaks the language, and he's not still learning his trade. The fact that he was captain not just of his club but of Tanzania shows a level of maturity. All his actions so far are positive; he doesn't need time to settle.
First four are great examples of players who fitted into a majority homegrown team. I agree with adding two or three players of quality from abroad, but not quantity.

You've given a few examples of players who haven't worked but they are mostly players we picked up in a bargain bin or out of desperation. You said homegrown players come at a premium, well apparently we have the money and the premiums are what we should be paying.

Look at James at Man Utd, young british player signed from the championship and arguably the best signing they've made in years. Fill our team with the right people, not the best stats.
 
Of the youth, I think only those who've gone out and made a mark will be looked at as probable keepers, and even that's not certain. That means Sarkic and O'Hare. Davis is a difficult one; certainly potential, but injuries are an issue.

Of those who currently get a look in, I'd be surprised if we let Elmo go. A squad player but a very useful one at times. Likewise Hourihane, but Hourihane might want to move on. Chester might be in that position as well; he still better at some things than the younger CBs we've got, for example he scores goals from set pieces, an area where our other CBs aren't very good. And he has loads of very useful experience; heart says stay be maybe he wants to move on.

Engels isn't on the list. To me he's better than Konsa and Hause by a mile, but is he out of favour?

Otherwise, I think the rest have to leave. They're not part of our future.
 
I can't see many leaving myself. Remember, we already have a relatively small first team squad. Can't really say who will be released in the summer yet as it could be dependent on survival or not.

Looking on the positive side, I can see 4-5 leaving and being replaced with 6-7 better/more experienced players...... building for a long term better future.
 
We were over the moon signing players like Richards and Lescott, ticked all the boxes. How could we fail? McCormack knocking them in for fun, a statement of intent, not an act of desperation.

I didn't mention premium, somebody else did. Well, the money is there but we can't spend it, this year, because of FFP. Survive and we can afford to take a different approach. At the moment what we've chosen to do is not scrape the bottom of the homegrown barrel.
 
Sorloth was a Palace flop......but his career in the right system might change that. I wouldn't welcome it though unless he was 3rd choice.