Aston Villa Central » Transfers

Liverpool’s Bid For Luke Young Apparently Accepted

Dan — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:30:55 +0000

Liverpool have reportedly made a £2.5m bid for Luke Young and Martin O’Neill has confirmed the club have received a bid from an unnamed club with Young currently “mulling it over”:-

Martin O’Neill
There has been an offer from a football club, which Luke is mulling over and if it doesn’t materialize then he would also join us [in Portugal] because he needs to play some football soon. We will see how that develops.

My personal opinion is one of slight disappointment, but I won’t lose any sleep over it. I like Luke, always have done, but in the “Tale of the Tape” I put his performance at right back against Carlos Cuellar’s in the same role statistically and showed there wasn’t a whole lot between them. Carlos certainly isn’t anywhere near the appalling right back some insist on portraying him as.

On the more positive side, in the “Inside-out Wingers” I made the case that we need the overlapping forward runs we would associate with Young and Warnock to unlock the real benefits of playing Ashley Young and Steward Downing on the “wrong wing”.

You pays your money, you makes your choice I suppose. It seems overly simplistic, but it’s become a truism that Cuellar offers the stronger defensive options and Young offers more in attack, at least in open play.

I do hold a lot of value in full backs as auxiliary attackers. In fact I tend to think of them primarily from that perspective, but it’s impossible to dismiss the defensive nightmare Young had at Stamford Bridge and the number of times that Cuellar snuffed out any threat down his side of the pitch, it’s become difficult not to imagine that Cuellar helped save more points than Young could have contributed to gaining.

All Things Considered

As The Guardian points out; Luke Young had a horribly unfortunate start to last season. Firstly he was injured when the squad were out in Spain for the Peace Cup and, before he was fit again, he took another knock back with the terrible personal tragedy of his brother’s death.

Rumours about a falling out with Martin O’Neill persisted, but I’ve never seen anything to convince me, frankly. MON rightly or wrongly brought in Warnock, Dunne & Collins since he was also dealing with the fact that Curtis Davies required shoulder surgery at the time and, as far as I’m concerned, once fit, Luke Young fell to 5th choice among the defenders. Yes, it’s true, the way MON operates, that could also be interpreted as “5th favourite”.

Once the foursome of Cuellar, Collins, Dunne & Warnock were thrown together for the first time against Birmingham City, it was clear that we had a rock solid defensive unit. Until Collins picked up a knock a little while later, Young was unable to get his way back in and frequently relied on filling in at left back rather than right.

Young publicly expressed his frustration during the close season at what he saw as not getting a fair crack at playing and I can certainly understand his perspective. However, I take the view that collectively we had one of the best defenses in the league and if it ain’t broke, why fix it? We did struggle for goals somewhat, but you’ll never convince me that was because Luke Young wasn’t playing so, in final analysis, I have to place greater value on Cuellar’s defensive abilities over Young’s attacking qualities.

Show Me The Money

Luke Young is apparently also one of the club’s highest earners, I don’t think I’d be far off the mark if I claimed he was earning £45k/week. That’s over £2m per year and with our wages to revenue ratio being what it is, this has to be viewed pragmatically.

With Carlos Cuellar likely to resume his position as first choice at right back, Eric Lichaj likely to be signing a new contract and making a serious attempt at staking a place in the first team squad, Habib Beye offering a slightly less effective, but probably considerably cheaper version of Luke Young, and Young himself unhappy, it’s an absolute no-brainer that a significant offer would have to be accepted.

By significant offer, I mean a sum that wouldn’t be far from his residual value on the balance sheet, and that’s what we seem to have received from Liverpool. It will be interesting to see how it pans out as Young is no more likely to be first choice ahead of Glen Johnson than he is ahead of Carlos Cuellar, but perhaps he will be happier knowing that to be the case up front and feeling he has a fair chance of competing.

Ultimately, as I said on Twitter when the news broke and received a negative response or two; it’s a shame, while I’ll be saddened to see him go and I do value him as a player, £2m off the wage bill isn’t to be sniffed at, we do have options and we’ll be fine.

If Luke does go, I’ll simply say thanks and best of luck.

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The Magnificent Seven

Dan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:00:17 +0000

Despite some early blockbusters, it’s been quite a subdued transfer market overall this summer. Nevertheless, Martin O’Neill managed to match last summer’s influx by bringing in seven new faces, although his hand may have been forced somewhat by the exists of Gareth Barry & Martin Laursen.

Here’s the seven in the order they joined:-

Stewart Downing, 16/07/09, £12m, Middlesbrough
Fabian Delph, 04/08/09, £8m, Leeds
Habib Beye, 07/08/09, £2.5m, Newcastle
Andy Marshall, 12/08/09, Free, N/A
Stephen Warnock, 27/08/09, £8m, Blackburn
James Collins, 01/09/09, £5m, West Ham
Richard Dunne, 01/09/09, £6m, Man City

That’s a £41.5m outlay. Taking the £16m received for Gareth Barry & Zat Knight into account, that’s over £25m invested in new players this summer. Not at all shabby.

When you consider the net spend last season was in excess of £45m, that’s more than £70m net over two seasons. Well, I say two seasons, but we’re only a handful of games into the second and the January window remains an option if required.

Randy Lerner warned us that there would be less money spent on players this summer, and he was true to his word, but a net £70m over the last couple of summers is a serious amount of investment. I doubt it needs pointing out that everyone with a vested interest will be hoping to see some serious returns this season.

MON has brought an interesting mix of players in this year. MON’s already proven that he’s willing to splash the cash on a young, exciting prospect when he brought Ashley Young to the club. I’m sure we’re all hoping that history is set to repeat itself with Fabian Delph.

The squad is a lot stronger than when Ash joined us and there’s a lot of competition for places in the middle of the park, so Delph may need a season to settle, but he’s definitely a brilliant prospect.

Stewart Downing might not be as young, but it’s definitely going to be interesting when we have the option of another attacking winger. Although Downing is unlikely to play much, if at all, before the end of the year, it’s a massive shame that we’ll no longer have the burden of the extra European games so that MON could utilise all of the attacking options at his disposal.

No disrespect to Andy Marshall, but he was brought in to replace Taylor as 3rd choice goal keeper. It’s definitely a bonus to have his sort of experience to call upon should the worst come to the worst and he’s a welcome addition to the squad from that perspective.

I think I read somewhere that Warnock was a long time target and it shows MON’s persistence to go back in for him. With Shorey apparently all set to go to Portsmouth on a season long loan that fell through at the last minute, it’s clear that Warnock is the new first choice left back.

My feeling is that Beye was something of an opportunistic purchase, driven mainly by the apparent long term injury to Luke Young. Lichaj drew the plaudits during the summer, but it’s too early for him just yet. Beye’s a decent option to cover and if the serious alternative was again playing someone out of position, then he’s a great addition to the squad.

The biggest hole to fill, quite literally, was at the back. With Laursen’s retirement, Zat Knight’s slightly strange exit and Curtis Davies’ shoulder problem, it was imperative that MON brought a couple of experienced central defenders in.

I’m far from convinced that Richard Dunne was the most willing player to leave a club, but he’s not going to be treated like he’s making up the numbers at Villa. Surely he’s going to be taking Laursen’s number 5 shirt and will probably become a fixture at the back. Hopefully he can strike up a strong partnership with Cuellar as soon as possible.

Everyone is talking about having a strong leader at the back and that Dunne fits the mold. He will more than likely become the key acquisition of this summer.

I have to admit that James Collins is a player who has completely flown under my radar and presumably he will provide cover for Dunne and Cuellar. Again, we have an impressive youngster coming through the ranks in Ciaran Clark, but with Davies apparently needing some surgery and lengthy recuperation, it’s great to have another experienced option in the squad.

So, strictly speaking these are the seven new players this summer, but don’t forget those youngsters knocking on the door of first team consideration. With Clark, Lowry, Lichaj, Herd, Bannon and Albrighton all showing that they’re capable of doing a job this season, we’ve actually got one of the deepest squads in terms of talent that we’ve had for a long, long time.

Early signs suggest that this might be a competitive Premiership season and I’m pretty excited about what this squad might be able to achieve. Make no mistake, it’s going to take a lot of hard work, perhaps a little luck and the strong support of the fans, but there’s every chance that MON has now assembled a squad capable of challenging for honours.

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Aston Villa Sign James Collins

Dan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:50:48 +0000

It’s been confirmed that Aston Villa have completed the £5m signing of central defender James Collins from West Ham.

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Aston Villa Sign Richard Dunne

Dan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:23:11 +0000

It has been confirmed that Aston Villa have signed centre back Richard Dunne from Man City for £6million.

More details to follow.

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Transfer Window Live Updates

Dan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:15:02 +0000

This is it, the last few hours of the summer transfer window. Have you been obsessed with who is coming in all summer? If so, you shall soon be out of your misery.

As the moment, there are two deals we know are under negotiation and look likely to be completed – Richard Dunne from Citeh and James Collins from West Ham. It’s looks like there’s about £11m worth of business there and both are central defenders… which is nice.

1754 – SSN say that The FA have confirmed receipt of the Dunne paperwork, but we are waiting for the Premiership to confirm the same. Having to register players in two players makes perfect sense.

1718 – Still awaiting official confirmation, but SSN are reporting that Dunne has signed for Villa.

1700 – Well, that’s it folks… we now just wait to hear what happened with Richard Dunne and whether anyone managed to fly in under the radar – which looks unlikely.

1658 – Big concerns about the Richard Dunne deal, or no deal as it’s starting to look. Still no official confirmation, only The Guardian have run it as a story. Very Strange.

1550 – James Collins signing confirmed.

1513 – It’s probably nothing, but I’ve just noticed that Moustapha Salifou has not been included in tonight’s reserve squad for the game at Villa Park against West Ham. Bit strange since he played well in the recent 4-0 win over Chelsea and was credited with an assist on one of Clark’s two goals.

1455 – SSN are reporting that Marlon Harewood may go to either Hull or Newcastle on loan.

1445 – I’ve updated the transfers page to include Richard Dunne at £6m. That takes MON’s net spend this summer to £20.5m with another £5m expected to be paid for James Collins.

1427 – The Guardian confirms that it’s a Dunne Deal.

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Aston Villa Sign Stephen Warnock

Dan — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:49:03 +0000

It has been confirmed that Aston Villa have signed left back Stephen Warnock from Blackburn on a 4 year deal and he’ll wear number 25.

He’s expected to be introduced to the Villa Park crowd during the Rapid Vienna game tonight, just as Brad Friedel was at the Odense game last year.

I’ve updated the transfer page with a fee of 7,000,000 for now – if anything more concrete turns up I’ll amend it 8,000,000.

Positive quotes from the player:-

The manager is buying some really talented players – young and ambitious – and I’m sure they will see that top four spot as a target and goal. Playing in Europe is important – playing against the top players on the continent is fantastic – and there’s no better stage to do that than on the Champions League. If we could do that, it would be a great achievement.

We’re in the Europa League now and that is hugely important, too. To play against great sides will be tremendous – just look at the likes of Celtic who will be involved in the competition now. If we can qualify for the group stages, we’ll be part of that. It’s a big night. After the result last week, it’s a must-win game against Rapid. I’m sure the lads will go in with plenty of confidence and I’m sure we’ll get the right result.

It will be interesting to see whether we’re really about to enter the season with three recognised left backs, or this means curtains for either Shorey or Bouma.

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Say Hello To Andy Marshall

Dan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:28:23 +0000

Who?!? Relax, he’s 34, was available on a free and is obviously just filling the third choice goal keeper shirt vacated by Stuart Taylor. He has been signed on a one year contract.

Evidently Elliott Parish hasn’t inspired enough confidence should the two Brads become simultaneously unavailable. Marshall has played for Norwich, Ipswich, Millwall and Coventry.

With all due respect, and in the nicest possible way, I hope we don’t have to see you on the pitch, Andy. That said, if the alternative is giving Gabor Kiraly and his tracky bottoms a call when we’re in schtuck, welcome to Aston Villa!!

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Habib Beye Signs

Dan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:26:30 +0000

Aston Villa have signed 31 year old French/Senegalise right back Habib Beye from Newcastle Utd on a three year contract.

He’s highly regarded by Newcastle fans in his right back role, but can also fill in at centre back. He’s obviously used to working with James Milner on the right, so shouldn’t have too many problems adapting.

At 31, I’d like to hope that MON plans to use Habib as a utility/squad player, perhaps just seeing us through a season or two.

Lichaj obviously has a great future and I hope he gets plenty of opportunity to play, but if Luke Young’s injury becomes longer term or returns again then MON is probably quite wise to have such an experienced option to call upon.

I’ll update the transfer page with the fee when I can get a better idea of what it might be – three million is being mooted right now.

So, for now, welcome to Aston Villa, Habib Beye. Happy Days!!

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Oxford Utd 2 Aston Villa XI 0 and Fabian Delph Quotes

Dan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:42:12 +0000

As expected, after playing so recently in the Peace Cup, it was just kids that were sent down to Oxford to play the conference side at the Kassam Stadium. I listened to the commentary on BBC Radio Oxford and I could hear the 700 odd Villa fans in good voice. I was also treated to the dolcid tones of Jack Woodward in the background, at one point comparing the pitch to a snooker table which left the radio guys in stitches. Jack’s always good value.

The youngsters seemed to start brightly enough, forcing the Oxford keeper into what sounded like an amazing double save. Besides another chance or two early on, Oxford seemed to deserve their 2-0 at half-time. The second half seemed a fairly even affair aside from an over zealous tackle on Gary Gardner which required a stretcher, but he was well enough to walk later.

With the likes of Parish, Lowry, Herd, Collins & McGurk on the pitch I was surprised that the Young Lions were not more competitive, but it was probably still a useful experience for them. 4,300 is possibly one of the bigger crowds the team have had opportunity to play in front of and, yes, sadly that includes those that played in the Peace Cup!!

I can understand why the England Under-21 trio weren’t included, but there’s now only one scheduled pre-season friendly left for them before the new Premiership season starts. Then again, it should just be a case of match fitness, it’s not like they have a handful of new team mates to adapt to. Yet.

However, there is at least one new face around Bodymoor that they will have to get used to playing with. Fabian Delph might only be 19 years old and relatively inexperienced, but you don’t spend that kind of transfer fee on a player to slot into the reserves for any significant period of time. Even in the Premiership.

There’s obvious similarities between this acquisition and signing Ashley Young. Aston Villa are undeniably a stronger side two and a half years later, but Ash was brought straight into the first team and I would be surprised if Fabian didn’t play some part in Saturday’s friendly against Fiorentina. By the way, although we lost, Ash scored on his debut in Newcastle. Just saying.

Delph was given a tour of Bodymoor and Villa Park today and it’s fair to say that the lad is impressed and happy to to be here:-

I’m absolutely delighted. It’s a big step up but I’m looking forward to it and hopefully I can do well.

I’ve managed to get the move here and I’m going to work my hardest and hopefully the gaffer will give me the opportunity to play.

There are a lot of young English players here, an absolutely superb manager and this is the club I’ve chose to play for so hopefully I can do well.

I’ve been to look at the ground and it’s absolutely unreal. It’s mind blowing. If I get the chance to play in it and do well I’ll be really chuffed with myself.

Alright, it’s a bit repetitive and clichéd, but he’s a 19 year old pro-footballer, not an after dinner speaker. He seems committed and determined enough, but I wouldn’t expect anything else from a MON signing.

Ken Bates has divulged some more details of the deal and it wasn’t quite as simple as it first appeared. According to Mr. Bates, a fee had been agreed with Citeh, but they wanted a week to think about it and old Ken wasn’t happy with that so he came back to see if Villa were still interested. Whatever. The main thing is that we got our man despite interest from the likes of Citeh, Everton and Spurs and we went about it the right way.

I hope Fabian will live up to the not unconsiderable hype and it doesn’t put too much pressure on him. It’s worth keeping in mind that he’s currently banned from driving, so moving clubs and acclimatising to a new life will be all the more challenging. He seems like an exciting prospect, but we should remember he’s young and give him time to settle.

Welcome to Aston Villa, Fabian.

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Official: Fabian Delph Signs For Aston Villa

Dan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:42:56 +0000

Aston Villa have just confirmed that Fabian Delph has been signed from Leeds Utd.

The fee is thought to be around £6million with £2million in potential add-ons.

He’s 19 years old, an attacking midfielder and the 2009 Football League Young Player of the Year. He won Players’ Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year & Goal of the Season in Leeds Utd’s annual awards for the 2008/09 season.

I’m really looking forward to seeing him and action and hope that this is another Ashley Young type of signing.