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Transfers Summer 2026 Transfer Thread

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As has been said many times, the skill is not identifying decent players - if you can’t do that in the age of data you really should go and find another job. The skill is putting together a balanced team in which the parts complement each other. And Lange has shown zero ability to do that.


And you cant bring balance, if you keep shifting managers. He joined in Nov 23 as technical director before getting promoted to sporting director... how many managers we have had since ?


Players he got in are good players on a given day - thats all is that I am saying. He isnt a manager picker.

And no body can pick easily using data. I doubt many Sporting directors buy Jhon Duran scoring 8 goals in 27 games from chicago fire for 14m - He did that and paid of by selling him for 64m with 50m profit.
 
And you cant bring balance, if you keep shifting managers. He joined in Nov 23 as technical director before getting promoted to sporting director... how many managers we have had since ?

How many managers Villa had since ? 1

Players he got in are good players on a given day - thats all is that I am saying. He isnt a manager picker.

And no body can pick easily using data. I doubt many Sporting directors buy Jhon Duran scoring 8 goals in 27 games from chicago fire for 14m - He did that and paid of by selling him for 64m with 50m profit.
He was surely influential in getting Frank, no? A man he’s knows for years and he thought could work with a squad constructed to play Angeball?
 
Lange record is not bad at all interms of identifying players.

Watkins, Rogers, Jhon Duran, Emiliano Martinez, Buendia, Diaby, Cash - core of the Villa side was signed under him.

Like him or not for his role in bringing in Frank, persisting with Frank, brining in Tudor - he identifies players.

Jhon Duran from Chicago Fire and selling him to Al Nassr for 64m was just phenomenal

Infact, if Duran is not so expensive in transfer fee & salary, I would happily get him as no9. Cant do much wrong with him still at 22.

If not for deals like that Villas FFP issues would be a lot worse than they are

I dont mind him as an analyst at all, he just cant be "the guy"


I'm 45 but feel like it's such an effort not be 15, tbh.
Other than a complete inability to lay in anymore. Fuck sake.

Same! :mourcry:



Agree with bit in bold

IMO Lange's blind spot is 'squad building' that means spending money on the right player at the right time.

One of the best examples of that is buying Gray for £40m in June 2024 having also signed Bergvall who signed that summer, both aged 18 and I like both players for their likely good futures - but for example Bergvall did not make his debut until Christmas in that season as he was very raw. What we needed that season was at least one experienced good midfield player. In June 2024 Newcastle sold Anderson to Notts Forest at about £35m ........ he's probably one of the best DM's with good passing abilities in PL right now and aged 23 - that's the player Lange should have signed who would have helped us a lot more for last 2 seasons and next few seasons, and probably worth £60m - £80m already.

And I'm sure there are other good examples.

Absolutely - he should be no where near 'the big picture' at all - but by all means use his ability to spot talent
 
Wikipedia says 27 goals in 58 appearances for Fiorentina. Good numbers.
Serie A is dogshit at the moment, so you have to factor that in. But his physical profile is what you’d want in a PL striker currently. Big enough to fight with defenders who are allowed by refs to assault forwards, and quick enough to run in behind on transitions.

I wonder if Fabio would take a package deal for him too?
Solomon, Dragusin and Sarr?
 
£63m for an "OK" striker just to send him out on loan twice afterwards certainly has a bit of a whiff about it imo.

2023/24 : 8 goals 1 assist across all comps in 1053 minutes : goal or assist every 117 minutes. 9 starts overall

2024 / 25 (PL, CL,EFL cup) : 1050 minutes, 12 goals. Goals every 87.5 minutes
7 of this goals came in games where he scored late winners including Bayern, City, Leipzig, Westham ,Everton etc... And he only started 7 of these games. Most of his goals were just spectacular finishes

All this was him as 20 yr old.

He is not a OK striker. Even if its some odd Saudi club, they arent going to spend 64m & 300k salary on ok strikers

He took a bad decision now reaping the consequence of missing out on WC after he chose money. Still has his career ahead. If he choses to give it up and come back, I dont mind at all. I would rather have him in our squad than Kean
 
I'm 45 but feel like it's such an effort not be 15, tbh.
Other than a complete inability to lay in anymore. Fuck sake.

I went into sports direct the other day, and it was one I worked at when it was "sports soccer" and ran like a Nazi operation. I was telling my daughter about it and I was like "I worked in this exact area when I was about 17" and it's been nearly 25 years and yet I couldn't fathom that it had been that long with so little changing physically in the store.
If the kids go to the playing park I like a go on the swings, but I'm a tall and bulky guy and forget that I'm a 100kg+ adult and not a scrawny teenager. Occasionally I'll try to kick a ball like I used to and I'll need a knee strap for 3 weeks
 
There's a LONG list of strikers who couldn't score in Serie A and didn't magically become good in the PL, but an even longer one of players that looked prolific in Serie A and did a good Jozy Altidore impression in the PL. Dare we include Shevchenko in a list that has Zirkzee, Hojlund, Jovetic etc
The thing is Serie A was close to the level of the PL in the 00s and Shevchenko came here. He just had too many minute s in his legs to adapt and lost a yard or two.

Nowadays every Euro league is miles behind the PL so every signing is a gamble. You just have to see the right qualities in a player that could help them adapt quickly but the mental challenge of dealing with the relentless grind and a constant slew of tough opponents week after week is unknowable until they get here.
 
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