13 Jul 2026 17:03:11
Regarding Youri Tielemans.
I know the first thing people will say is, "He's 29, we shouldn't be signing players that age." But football isn't Football Manager—you don't build a squad with nothing but 21-year-olds. You need proven quality, experience, and players who can improve the players around them.
At around £35m, with sensible wages, this looks like outstanding value in today's market. We'd be getting a Premier League-proven midfielder who can slot straight into the team without needing a season to adapt.
What makes this deal even more interesting is that we've triggered his release clause. Villa don't want to sell him and even offered him a new contract, but they have no choice. If the player wants the move, that's the end of it.
You'd have to think this will leave a bitter taste at Villa Park.
They helped us out by taking Rashford and Sancho on loan when they were dealing with PSR issues, and now we're taking arguably their most influential midfielder.
People also forget Villa had the chance to bring Douglas Luiz back and decided against it because Tielemans had become the heartbeat of their midfield. During their incredible run he controlled games, and when he got injured, their form dropped off badly. That wasn't a coincidence.
If this goes through after his medical, I think we'll look back on this as one of the smartest signings of the summer. Not every transfer has to be about buying potential.
I am sure I won't be the only supporter happy we have some quality and depth in the middle of the park and hopefully not to far from putting a real good effort into bringing it home.
{Ed001's Note - I do actually have one issue with him, now that I have read on the Villa site. They say he missed 36 games through injuries in his 3 seasons there - that is a lot of time out over the course of a season.}
13 Jul 2026 19:00:31
He missed 23 games last year with 2 separate issues, ankle and calf. Before that, he missed very few, hopefully, last year was a one off.
14 Jul 2026 04:58:49
Looks like we are buying players and emphasis is not to overpay. Need one more, most likely a left back. It reminds me of Liverpool early years with Klopp, who made astute signings without spending crazy money.
It also looks like we have plenty left in the bank given the net spend so far that we can spend plenty more on the right player if they become available.
I personally like the way we are conducting our business. Let's judge things at the end of the window, which is still 6 weeks away, and results on the pitch.