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Could make them a more rounded team. They have relied on Jack at times.
Definitely makes them more resilient to injuries. They were hopeless when Grealish was injured.
Could make them a more rounded team. They have relied on Jack at times.
Erm ... We all know that we've met with Camavinga's representatives. However I'm not willing to believe this report coming from ESPN. Mainly because all the players mentioned are the same mould of midfielders as Pogba. There were reports during the Camavinga tweet flurries, that Eduardo's pursuit is not connected to Pogba's departure. In other words if Pogba stays and signs extension we still would be pursuing one of those players.
So I wouldn't give too much credibility to that report.
Sorry, I meant to say 'Mainly because all the players mentioned are NOT the same mould of midfielders as Pogba. They are pure DCMs.I think you failed to acknowledge one possibility in these reports.
Ole most likely wants Pogba to stay meaning he likes what Pogba has to offer.
Pogba does not want to extend. So, Ole looks for another MF like Pogba.
Fundamentally, I don't see any harm in that especially if keeping Pogba would require record wages for the player. I just don't think he's worth it.
What I do not want to see is us giving Pogba a massive contract to extend and he continues to play LW and be inconsistent.
Even if he doesn't extend and he's not sold this summer, we're still going to see Pogba playing LW due to Rashford being out for several months.
As far as Ole's concerned, Pogba is first choice for that spot behind Rashford which is grim.
Back when they brought Jesus I was thinking that he's the real deal. Not so much anymore.They have all of the money and that's what the rumours are.
I'm not exactly convinced they will but they've no striker worth talking about at all.
Sorry, I meant to say 'Mainly because all the players mentioned are NOT the same mould of midfielders as Pogba. They are pure DCMs.
I'm having the feeling that Ole would be happy to play Pogba in the middle since the arrival of Varane. I also think ideally Ole would like to bring in a #6 and play in a 4-3-3 (Stephen Howson reported that Mike Phelan confirmed as true, when asked if we are looking at a 4-3-3).
I also believe that Ole would rather keep Pogba and Pogba will play a lot more in the middle rather than LW. We all know the reason why Paul played at LW - he's not good at defending and having Lindelof in the back, who often gets outrun, outjumped, pushed around and unable to win the ball back, Ole prefers to have 2 players good at defending rather than just one.
With Varane in the back, Paul will get a lot more minutes in the middle and I'd put my head on the guillotine and say that he'll barely play at LW. The LW minutes will be shared mainly between Sancho, Martial, Rashford and maybe Dan James.
Sorry, I meant to say 'Mainly because all the players mentioned are NOT the same mould of midfielders as Pogba. They are pure DCMs.
I'm having the feeling that Ole would be happy to play Pogba in the middle since the arrival of Varane. I also think ideally Ole would like to bring in a #6 and play in a 4-3-3 (Stephen Howson reported that Mike Phelan confirmed as true, when asked if we are looking at a 4-3-3).
I also believe that Ole would rather keep Pogba and Pogba will play a lot more in the middle rather than LW. We all know the reason why Paul played at LW - he's not good at defending and having Lindelof in the back, who often gets outrun, outjumped, pushed around and unable to win the ball back, Ole prefers to have 2 players good at defending rather than just one.
With Varane in the back, Paul will get a lot more minutes in the middle and I'd put my head on the guillotine and say that he'll barely play at LW. The LW minutes will be shared mainly between Sancho, Martial, Rashford and maybe Dan James.
Brilliant deal/business for Villa. Anyone who wouldn’t take Buendia/Bailey/Ward-Prowse for one Jack Grealish is a mad man.
True. I don't think I said that they could cover for one of them. Fred and VDB are the covers for Paul and Bruno.None of the midfielders we are linked to can cover for Pogba and Bruno as #8's, it doesn't matter who the CB's are.
I can't argue with that as I haven't watched enough of them playing, but why would we want to switch to 4-3-3 and still want one of them instead of being linked with Rice/Ndidi? Which both would cost a fortune. I think Camavinga is the main target and the coaches believe that he could slot in that position with the right guidance.None of those three is good enough/pure enough to be the lone DCM in a 4-3-3 in my opinion - Camavinga is too young , Neves to immobile and Saul is too much tilting towards an box to box.
Ofcourse you might either of those with Fred or McT together with Pogba, but if we are talking a pure DM then only Rice/Ndidi could do that.
True. I don't think I said that they could cover for one of them. Fred and VDB are the covers for Paul and Bruno.
True. I don't think I said that they could cover for one of them. Fred and VDB are the covers for Paul and Bruno.
I can't argue with that as I haven't watched enough of them playing, but why would we want to switch to 4-3-3 and still want one of them instead of being linked with Rice/Ndidi? Which both would cost a fortune. I think Camavinga is the main target and the coaches believe that he could slot in that position with the right guidance.
Brilliant deal/business for Villa. Anyone who wouldn’t take Buendia/Bailey/Ward-Prowse for one Jack Grealish is a mad man.
city must be bonkers then?Brilliant deal/business for Villa. Anyone who wouldn’t take Buendia/Bailey/Ward-Prowse for one Jack Grealish is a mad man.
I don’t think anyone in the world could do that.What I was saying was that none of Saul/Neves/Camavinga are capable of allowing both Pogba and Bruno to play, we'll get ran through.
Any mid-table club you mean
city must be bonkers then?
I guess the coaching staff and scouts see something in them. Let's see.What I was saying was that none of Saul/Neves/Camavinga are capable of allowing both Pogba and Bruno to play, we'll get ran through.
You're probably right to be fairI think they are, yeah! If I’m being honest.
Agreed, they will be a better team than last season.Brilliant deal/business for Villa. Anyone who wouldn’t take Buendia/Bailey/Ward-Prowse for one Jack Grealish is a mad man.
I don’t think anyone in the world could do that.
Bar about 4-5 clubs in world football! And even then, it could be a bad decision.
Bailey/Buendia could be in contention to play at any of the top clubs. They could well be sought after in a few years by even the likes of City.
Ward Prowse could well step up in a better team too. Even for the value alone, it’s a fantastic deal.
I guess the coaching staff and scouts see something in them. Let's see.
Bar about 4-5 clubs in world football! And even then, it could be a bad decision.
Bailey/Buendia could be in contention to play at any of the top clubs. They could well be sought after in a few years by even the likes of City.
Ward Prowse could well step up in a better team too. Even for the value alone, it’s a fantastic deal.
I'd actually rank him as a 100m player to be fair.
But I don't think City really needed to spend 100m on a position they aren't short in. So this transfer is a bit weird. He's an outstanding player and to anyone thinking hel rotate with others like Mahrez did - do you really think City will make a club record transfer of 100m just for a player to rotate?!
He's coming in as the D Silva to KDB I think. And when he's not that, hel be out on the left opposite to Foden.
The only positive is that they lack an explosive player outside of Sterling to really use pace and run on behind. They lack a top striker for the time being too.
Let's just hope they don't get Kane
I'd take Grealish at United over all three.
It's not madness at all. Ward-prowse is not an elite player. Buendia could be a top player one day and I don't know enough about the other bloke but it's not a safe bet by any means.
Exactly Pogba and Bruno should not be playing together. It's like Gerrard and Lampard for England.I don’t think anyone in the world could do that.
If we hadn’t signed Sancho for the right hand side, I would have easily taken the three. Bailey brings real pace and a player who wants to play as a natural right winger.
Buendia could well match Grealish goal contributions even if you lose his ball carrying (which sometimes doesn’t really go anywhere). He can make the step up. I am pretty confident.
Ward Prowse gives you a good CM with world class set piece delivery on top. Not to mention the English tax to his value too!
Far more sensible to take the three in terms of squad strength, player potential and the value that it brings. It’s a no brainer for me, especially in Villa’s case. It absolutely would be madness for them, in their situation, not to take that trade off.
What? This will take spending to 1.1bn since 2016…of course it’s their owners.Sad part they probably dont even need any owner funding for buying these two with all the PL and CL money
What? This will take spending to 1.1bn since 2016…of course it’s their owners.
If you want to challenge for titles you don't have the luxury of bringing in two maybes and mid-table midfielder just because his set pieces are amazing when the alternative is one proven first teamer.
game over for all
Who else is spending 250m on 2 players after a year without crowd revenue? How much prize money do you think they get?Yes, but I mean this transfer window
Who else is spending 250m on 2 players after a year without crowd revenue? How much prize money do you think they get?
All of them are proven first teamers. Their output has the potential to massively make up for the loss of Grealish. It’s a great deal for Villa and makes them a lot better.
Only about 5 teams/squads in the world that it doesn’t make better, so we will agree to disagree.
It’s a fantastic deal for Villa that they would be mad not to take, and that’s all that really matters in this context anyway.
I’ve been contemplating this, trying to make sense of it all. Whilst i agree we’d need an even defensively better DMC for the 4-3-3 to work properly against the best teams, Camavinga for example might be enough for us to field Pogba-Camavinga-Bruno against low block defenses. Just an idea.None of those three is good enough/pure enough to be the lone DCM in a 4-3-3 in my opinion - Camavinga is too young , Neves to immobile and Saul is too much tilting towards an box to box.
Ofcourse you might either of those with Fred or McT together with Pogba, but if we are talking a pure DM then only Rice/Ndidi could do that.