SambaMaverick

We've gone in for Fredericks from West Ham

Grealish and Mings at least will be on wages higher than we will ever pay. Also, how many players have they still actually got that were integral to their promotion? Villa were paying silly wages even for the Championship at the time, so not sure you can state that as a factor really. True, West Ham sold Haller this window but the fee paid by Ajax just about pays off the outlay for his purchase from Frankfurt (£40m), as they only paid around 25% up front. So yes, even the dildo brothers have come out of COVID better than Gao. -------- The simple fact of the matter is that we will never go anywhere (Europa qualification and beyond) with Gao in charge and if this self-sustainable model continues we could well find ourselves in big trouble if our manager and best players head to pastures new. I don't disagree with the self sustainable model in principle, but the facts are that a big initial investment is needed to overhaul the squad before we can even think about resting on our laurels. The squad isn't good enough. The youth aren't good enough. Our success this season is just testament to the great job that Ralph and our best 11 have done. Hopefully we can see a change of ownership in summer.

^^ And yet Villa can bring in a midfielder for 15 odd million in January to add to a spend of almost 100 million in the summer... Our ownership has run us into the ground, COVID or not. Don't think anyone could blame Ralph or Ings if they decide to go.

JWP needs a rest based on today's showing - idiotic decision to play him against Shrewsbury imo. Best opportunity to do so will probably be against United, but just thought I'd add my 2 cents. Diallo should be nowhere near the full back positions, added too much quality through the middle today. Hopefully our bench can be bolstered over the next few weeks as there is simply nothing positive about the young reinforcements we currently have. Redmond should also come in for Walcott, as he offers much more when in form than Theo - so we need him to string a few games together. On reflection this post probably comes across as negative, so I'm sorry. This life we are all living at the moment tends to make one a little bitter.

Yep. We finessed about the same amount including wages for Cedric, so I think £5m is a relatively reasonable amount. I meant our shiteness pre-2020. Now performances have picked up he is starting to get found out. Again, I wasn't saying we have been shit this year but rather in seasons gone by.

Would be another poor use of our limited funds to give him a new contract (a la Shane Long - although I thought that was a good idea at the time). No reason why we can't flog him off for ~£5m with this Brexit uncertainty and swoop for a tidy EFL replacement. He is the weak link in the team at the moment, having had his below-par performances masked by the shiteness of the rest of the team for a while now. Too slow getting forward, and then too slow getting back when he eventually does amble forward. Also seems prone to at least one major lapse in concentration per match.

Get a life

Diallo and Capoue on loan would be my picks, with Veerman coming in January / next summer

What's wrong with the finances? I'm not arguing the contrary, just asking because I'm not at all clued up. I would've thought getting the capital from a reputable source like Ares would highlight the "legitimacy" of the deal and the team behind it.

Yeah, because Gao looked a whole lot better on paper... PL came down on him like a ton of bricks... :/ :S

From looking at the stats, reading up about the type of player he is and looking at how highly-rated he is in France, it's clear that Sangare would be the best option to fill the void left by Hojbjerg. They share the same inconsistencies in passing accuracy and lapses in concentration giving the ball away, but Sangare is a player who will look to break lines and provide a killer pass or a progressive move forwards a lot more than the lumbering Romeu that we are currently stuck with - seems to have a lot more about him in the tackle as well (less of a yellow card magnet). It's a yes from me, and it's a relatively risk free move for the mooted £7m - with low wages to boot. I've also posted Tom Davies' numbers for last season for the #lolz, would have been a bit of a coup after his breakthrough as a nipper but seems to have had all individuality and promise completely whitewashed by the revolving manager circus at Goodison.

Kicker and Bild in particular are tabloid trash. Not reputable sources.

We could do a whole lot worse than Emi Martinez in goal if he's not happy sitting back on the bench when Leno comes back - has been mighty impressive as a stand-in. Full Argentina international as well.

Cantwell for sure. Comes with the English premium but we can use that to our advantage when we inevitably look to sell. An improvement on Boufal and less than an out-and-out winger than Sofiane as well, which fits the system. Speaking of Boufal, can anyone see Ralph keeping him around next season - he certainly looks to have blown his last chance here. Unlikely to happen without selling some deadwood though, as Norwich's head honcho has slapped a £20m price tag on all of their promising players. Not a fan of any of Villa or Bournemouth's talent, save for Grealish and Brooks who will go for prices well out of our league and become the next Jack Rodwell and Fabian Delph, wasting their talent to make up the home-grown numbers.