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Jan transfers (all other clubs bar Liverpool)

Good move for him and for Villa after offloading Duran.

I mean, if Duran had a bit of an attitude problem, but at least scored goals, it seems weird to bring in a player with an even bigger attitude problem that doesn’t score goals… but hey-ho, that’s up to them.
 
Low risk cover for Watkins on a loan.

Well, he’s not a CF and works best off the left and for whatever reason Amorim won’t have him anywhere near his team - so I wouldn’t call it low risk.

They’re also covering a pile of his wages.

I’m not sure about Villa’s transfer strategy - it seems a bit.. bipolar.
 
Duran clearly wanted out of Villa, and the Saudis paid them 65million pounds. Sounds like a good deal to me.
 
Duran clearly wanted out of Villa, and the Saudis paid them 65million pounds. Sounds like a good deal to me.
And Duran gets a shitload of mullah whilst playing and learning from the best, Mane and Ronaldo.

Can then come back to the PL in a couple of years and put it to good practice. Probably better than playing off of Villa's bench!
 

View: https://x.com/AnfieldEdition/status/1885090510898917520?t=ZbZlXaIaBcGA1FLOfvre4w&s=19

Well, Hendo is ruining what's left of his reputation.

Shame, I really loved him as captain and was willing to let the Saudi escapade vanish from the memory with time. But if this story is true, he's really nailing his true colours to the mast.


Who'd have thought the kind of person who feels the need to tell the world how righteous they are actually turns out to be a cunt.
 
Well, he’s not a CF and works best off the left and for whatever reason Amorim won’t have him anywhere near his team - so I wouldn’t call it low risk.

They’re also covering a pile of his wages.

I’m not sure about Villa’s transfer strategy - it seems a bit.. bipolar.

I agree their strategy is incoherent. But they're up against PSR limits. Selling either Duran or Watkins made sense and they didn't want to strengthen a rival by selling Watkins to Arsenal.

Rashford is by no means ideal cover, but he is cover that comes without a transfer fee.

I don't understand their pursuit of Felix at all. And they've not got Marco Ascensio on loan too.
 
They seem to be forced to sell a player a season by having forced themselves to be on this PSR borderline. It seems to be working a treat in terms of punishment even without explicit fines.
 
I agree their strategy is incoherent. But they're up against PSR limits. Selling either Duran or Watkins made sense and they didn't want to strengthen a rival by selling Watkins to Arsenal.

Rashford is by no means ideal cover, but he is cover that comes without a transfer fee.

I don't understand their pursuit of Felix at all. And they've not got Marco Ascensio on loan too.

This "strengthening a rival" idea you hear everywhere could do with a bit more scepticism I think.

1. You only strengthen them compared to what else they'll do with that money, and what else you can do with it. If buying Watkins now means they can't buy a way better striker in the summer, then you've actually weakened them compared to the position they'd eventually be in.

2. Maybe Arsenal wouldn't have time to buy anyone else now, so you strengthen them for the rest of the season. But are Villa seriously competing with Arsenal the rest of the season? Seems pretty doubtful. Maybe it's just about worth it for maintaining the 1-2% chance they've got of winning the CL... again, pretty doubtful.
 
This "strengthening a rival" idea you hear everywhere could do with a bit more scepticism I think.

1. You only strengthen them compared to what else they'll do with that money, and what else you can do with it. If buying Watkins now means they can't buy a way better striker in the summer, then you've actually weakened them compared to the position they'd eventually be in.

2. Maybe Arsenal wouldn't have time to buy anyone else now, so you strengthen them for the rest of the season. But are Villa seriously competing with Arsenal the rest of the season? Seems pretty doubtful. Maybe it's just about worth it for maintaining the 1-2% chance they've got of winning the CL... again, pretty doubtful.
Depends. Arsenal i don't think struggle for funds, so spending on watkins now doesn't necessarily mean they won't spend again on another forward i nthe summer. They've got a glaring hole at LW that they need to plug. Making them spend more on a less proven striker may hinder them in other ways. Equally, Villa might not be just thinking this season. In theory watkins could be very good for another 2 -3 seasons. IF Villa want to push on, they need to close the gap to Arsenal, not make it larger. Keeping watkins and taking the bigger fee for Duran allows them to spend bigger in the summer, as well as maintain continuity. Most important thing for villa in the short term is establish themselves as a CL regular. Not helping arsenal helps towards that goal
 
This "strengthening a rival" idea you hear everywhere could do with a bit more scepticism I think.

1. You only strengthen them compared to what else they'll do with that money, and what else you can do with it. If buying Watkins now means they can't buy a way better striker in the summer, then you've actually weakened them compared to the position they'd eventually be in.

2. Maybe Arsenal wouldn't have time to buy anyone else now, so you strengthen them for the rest of the season. But are Villa seriously competing with Arsenal the rest of the season? Seems pretty doubtful. Maybe it's just about worth it for maintaining the 1-2% chance they've got of winning the CL... again, pretty doubtful.

They can't do anything with that money due to PSR. And before today's result, Arsenal were as likely to drop back into the pack as keep pace with us.

Additionally there are significant add-ons with the Duran deal that made it of higher value.

Your general point might ring true but they had compelling reason in their minds to keep Watkins over Duran.
 
I watched the highlights of the Ajax game, Henderson looked like he ran the game. Not surprised they didn't want him to leave
 
I watched the highlights of the Ajax game, Henderson looked like he ran the game. Not surprised they didn't want him to leave
Yeah I hear he's doing quite well and is one of their most important players.
Might win the league with Ajax this season.
 
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