Vital Villa newbie AllanJW has taken a stab at how the first team squad could shape up over the summer as Aston Villa deal with Financial Fair Play issues.
With a number of players naturally out of contract this summer and players departing at the end of their loan spells, there’s already wild speculation in the press about who will and won’t return for the new campaign and even greater speculation surrounding those players we may now not be able to afford.
Stripping the group down with expected departures, here’s who AllanJW believes Steve Bruce (or A.Nother) will be left with before we even look at potential permanent or new loan signings to plug some gaps.
It Really Isn’t A Funny Old Game For Aston Villa – Where Did It All Go Wrong
—–
My best guesses at the moment; feel free to disagree.
Who’s going because they’re on loan and will not be back?
Robert Snodgrass, Lewis Grabban, Sam Johnstone, Josh Onomah, Axel Tuanzebe.
Who’s going at the end of their contract (whether their choice or ours)?
Gabby Agbonlahor, Chris Samba, John Terry, Alan Hutton (Bruce has said a deal will be offered), Mark Bunn.
Who’s coming back from loan still under contract?
Pierluigi Gollini, Tommy Elphick, Richie de Laet (confusion about buy-clause), Aaron Tshibola, Gary Gardner, Carles Gil (Deportivo said to be enacting buy-clause).
Who could step up from the U23’s (who doesn’t already have a first-team profile) to play a squad role?
Matija Sarkic, Easah Suliman, Oscar Borg, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Calum O’Hare, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.
So that leaves…
- GK: Jed Steer, Peirluigi Gollini, Matija Sarkic
- CB: Micah Richards, James Chester, Tommy Elphick, Easah Suliman
- FB: Neil Taylor, Ahmed Elmohamady, James Bree, Ritchie de Laet, Oscar Borg
- DM: Mile Jedinak, Glenn Whelan, Jordan Lyden, Aaron Tshibola
- CM: Conor Hourihane, Henri Lansbury, Birkir Bjarnason, Gary Gardner, Jake Doyle-Hayes
- AM: Jack Grealish, Andre Green, Albert Adomah, Carles Gil?, Callum O’Hare
- ST: Ross McCormack, Scott Hogan, Jonathan Kodjia, Keinan Davis, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy
That’s a squad of more than 30 players, which is what we have now in the first team so I’d say we have the beginnings of a new team.
Weaknesses? Plenty but let’s give the GK’s chance to impress, the young AM’s and strikers likewise, recognise we have a strongish CM and DM set (age notwithstanding) so I say we only need to wheel-and-deal for a CB within our financial constraints.
I’ll settle for that.
Can’t see Bruce wanting to lead that squad though, his track-record is buying big in the ‘experienced player’ end of the market and relying on their maturity.
I’ll leave it to others later in this off-season to speculate on who else might come in from the transfer market or whether we’ll sell assets.
Writer: AllanJW
—–
When you look at that list, and even if we lose de Laet and Gil as largely expected, we could still include Alan Hutton if he does agree a new deal. There’s also Jacob Bedeau to consider along with Corey Blackett-Taylor and a few other youngsters that started making names for themselves. Their futures might be better served with a six-month loan spell, to begin with, but come the second half of the campaign they would remain somewhat unknown quantity options to shake things up.
Yes, we lose the uber-experience of the John Terry and Robert Snodgrass, but at least to my eyes, that’s a squad that would be competitive in the main. If those names that haven’t reached their potential could step up that would be an added bonus.
Add to that 2-3 loans given Bruce’s contacts in the game, they could be the icing on the cake now this group has turned itself around and has a clear motivation following Wembley disappointment.
Financial Fair Play might not be pretty or ‘wow’ people in our transfer dealings, but it also doesn’t have to be the death knoll many feared.
What Is The Nucleus Of the Side To Start In August? – Forum Thread.
