At last the signing of N’Zogbia has been agreed after a week in which it was certain he would come but never actually officially signed.
Story is on the OS HERE (not actually up yet but the picture of him outside Bodymoor is on there)
So there is no doubt he is Downing’s replacement and sometimes you wonder why we took so long as it was obvious we had to compromise with Whelan. However it is done and that is the main thing and we can finally move on. He has signed a five year contract which is good but I will not pretend I think he is better than Downing or Young but for sure he is the BEST we could realistically aim for and get on limited cash.
Deal will be around £9.5M for him and lets hope he is as good as those two who have left but he is not a winger but more an inside forward. How he will link up with Bent drifting in will be vital to our season and whether the lack of crosses will be compensated by more through balls ?
Will there be any more ‘big name signings’ – NO according to Mcleish so it looks like he will have to hit the ground from the first minute.
Aston Villa News 24/7
I think he is a fantastic signing in his own right, but as a French speaker who has been in England a long time I have a feeling his presence in the Villa side will also help bring Makoun on.
There is no doubt that Makoun is quality if he can settle. We might just see a fantastic understanding evolve between those two.
I am sure that added bonus was in the previous regime’s thoughts when we were heavily linked with NZogbia last season.
I hadn’t considered that train of thought, a good point DV.
Fingers crossed we put in a decent shift against Chelsea today, and we can look forward to the season ahead with some optimism.
What a suprise Dudley Villan has to mention the previous regime.
Silly old kent
What difference does it make, all I can do is pass the ball 2 yards sideways. Luckily Villa fans are mugs and think Im great even though Im weak as piss and lierally do nothing when im on the field.
Au revoir
Delighted we finally completed the deal. I feel Nzogbia is a better player than Downing. Young will be a massive loss but if Ireland gets his head together i feel the two can be replaced. Ive no grudges against Young as he left for the champions and certain champions league participants every year. Downing just left for Liverpool who will still struggle to get into top 4. Id rather have players at the club who want to be here and Nzogbia signing a 5 year contract shows he wants to be here. Hes also a French international now and i believe he is better than Downing and he will show that this year. UTV
GIVEN
YOUNG COILLINS DUNNE WARNOCK
PETROV
ALBRIGHTON MAKOUN N’ZOGBIA
IRELAND
BENT
this team will be amazing trust me!
jury’s out on Ireland, gabby or bannan instead for me
Swap Petrov for Parker and would agree.
I think we should use Ireland and Petrov in the middle, hopefully they will be as good as they were at Newcastle last season
I wouldn’t rule out a new signing, depends if we can offload another player or two.
The board have never said that money for transfers has to be stopped, it’s all about the wages. With Carew, Friedel, Young and Downing out (and a few others) and Given & N’Zog in we have reduced the wage bill to a more sustainable level.
If nobody else goes, nobody else will come in. However if we get rid of another high earner or two, we could see a Parker or a Dann coming in.
It’s not about ‘no money’, its all about a sustainable wage bill.
granted…Downing was at the top of his game by the end of the season, but N’Zogbia was pretty much the same for Wigan. I wouldn’t necessarily say that one was better than the other. did you see that statistic in the paper the other day, throughout europe only Messi had more dribbles last season. Can you remember when we last had someone liek that in a villa shirt??
One thing we’ve bought is a very exciting player, who will drive defenses back by running at them. Can’t wait to see him in action…!!!
Does anyone have know where there is a decent feed for the game later?
A good signing for Villa. He’s not quite the finished article, but if he knuckles down then he could become a star player. I think he’ll work well with Ireland (who might not have performed today but still could be the fulcrum of an effective midfield).
On a slightly different note, I was out in Manchester yesterday evening and overheard a bragging lawyer talking about writing a loan agreement for a young Manchester City defender going to Everton for the season. Apparently the Medical is expected to be Tuesday.
I’ve looked on Fantasy Premier League and it’s surely this kid called Boyata, who is 4 million. I’ve put him into my team. You might want to as well.
would be a decent signing for everton, I wonder what will happen to Onhoua this season ?