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2020-21 Premier League Thread

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andyt said:
Jack Grealish signed a 5 year contract at Villa so I guess this means he’s not leaving? Unless they’re relegated again?
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Correct. Most players of his stature have some sort of trap door clause in case of relegation that gives them a way out ... but this contract officially removes Grealish from the market. Not that he was actually there to begin with. From what I've heard nobody ever came close to matching Villa's valuation for Grealish and he's never actually pressured them for a move ... despite the UK press slobbering all over him for years now. Kid's a true homegrown. If Villa are up, he's in.
 
Villa sign keeper Emi Martinez from Arsenal for £20 million. He’s been on Arsenal’s books since 2011-12 but made only 39 appearances with 23 of them last year after Bernd Leno was injured.
 
andyt said:
Villa sign keeper Emi Martinez from Arsenal for £20 million. He’s been on Arsenal’s books since 2011-12 but made only 39 appearances with 23 of them last year after Bernd Leno was injured.
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I vaguely recall him from his loan stint for Reading a couple of years ago, but the only time I actually remember seeing Martinez play was in the FA Cup Final in August. He was certainly good in that game, and God knows Villa need to upgrade in net. Heaton's cooked, Nyland stinks and Steer is a squaddie at best. None of that crowd was capable of bailing out that iffy defense ... even sporadically. Pepe Reina was an improvement on loan, and he's a million years old. With any luck this settles that situation for a few years.
 
Liverpool sign Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich for £20 million with an additional £5 million based on league and European results. That also opens the door for Bayern to take a run as US International Sergino Dest from Ajax.
 
Villa sign forward Bertrand Traore fro Lyon for a reported £19 million. He was on Chelsea’s books for 4 years but only made 16 appearances, spending 3 years on loan in the Netherlands.

Liverpool sign forward Diogo Jota from Wolves for £41 million with a possible £4 million in add-ins. It’s partially offset by Liverpool selling defender KI-Jana Hoever to Wolves for £9 million with a possible £4.5 million in add-ins. Liverpool retain a 15% sell on fee. Jota goes from regular at Wolves to squad player at Liverpool.
 
andyt said:
Villa sign forward Bertrand Traore fro Lyon for a reported £19 million. He was on Chelsea’s books for 4 years but only made 16 appearances, spending 3 years on loan in the Netherlands.

Liverpool sign forward Diogo Jota from Wolves for £41 million with a possible £4 million in add-ins. It’s partially offset by Liverpool selling defender KI-Jana Hoever to Wolves for £9 million with a possible £4.5 million in add-ins. Liverpool retain a 15% sell on fee. Jota goes from regular at Wolves to squad player at Liverpool.
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That Jota move is weird. He's still very young and struck me as a player with big upside, but he's only going to be a rotation player behind Salah and Mane ... who are both still in their 20s.

As for Traore ... I always love adding a Traore, and I thought he was older than 25. Seems like that guy has been around for ever since he was in Chelsea's huge loanee pool for so long. Another dynamic, speedy front line guy who can play out wide or in a false 9 kind of setup as Villa continue to upgrade their attacking talent. Looks like they'd actually like to try scoring some goals this season to see if that might help. Hint ... it will.
 
andyt said:
The Daily Mail says that Gareth Bale is back at Spurs on a loan deal, with Real Made]eid picking up some of the £13 million in wages.

www.dailymail.co.uk

EXCLUSIVE: Gareth Bale COMPLETES stunning move back to Tottenham

EXCLUSIVE BY DOMINIC KING AND SAMI MOKBEL: The Wales international has agreed terms on a year-long deal that Sportsmail understands to be worth more than £13million.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
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Long term, the better part of that transaction was the transfer of 23-year-old Sergio Reguilon. Pace, skills, high energy level, and a bit of an attitude, apparently. All missing from the left side of Spurs' defense.
 
The 31 year old version of Gareth Bale is a pretty far cry from the 24 year old version. There was a lot of talk in Spain about how his many injuries were just excuses, but what if they were actually just injuries? He's coming in injured, after all ... and appears to be made from actual tissue paper. I like Bale and hope he can at least play some games and have some fun again ... but we'll have to wait and see on his impact.
 
jeffbear said:
The 31 year old version of Gareth Bale is a pretty far cry from the 24 year old version. There was a lot of talk in Spain about how his many injuries were just excuses, but what if they were actually just injuries? He's coming in injured, after all ... and appears to be made from actual tissue paper. I like Bale and hope he can at least play some games and have some fun again ... but we'll have to wait and see on his impact.
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I'll be happy if his contribution is converting a few free kicks. Spurs have sucked at that ever since Eriksen stopped giving a crap.
 
Sure. If he gets a Madison Ave haircut and some (more?) prominent tattoos then I could see Bale doing an effective late stage Beckham impersonation.
 
Villa sign Ross Barkley on a season long loan from Chelsea?!

Fulham sign former Everton forward Ademola Lookman on a season long loan from RB Leipzig.

Man City sign defender Ruben Dias from Benfica for €68 million plus add-one. They’ send Nicolas Otamendi to Benfica in a separate deal for €15 million.
 
andyt said:
Villa sign Ross Barkley on a season long loan from Chelsea?!
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Weird, right? Didn't see that coming. Barkley wasn't bad for them last season when they used him a bit more forward in midfield, but they brought in better attacking options and the guy has never been any good when they've tried to play him deeper.

For Villa, who knows? They've been playing around with Grealish out wide on the left again after he played most of last season on the left side of a 3 man midfield. If they're going to stick with Grealish on the wing, then there could be a role for Barkley in a relatively attacking position in the midfield. That spot is currently filled by Conor Hourihane who is really good on set pieces and really mediocre otherwise. Or they could just use Barkley off the bench or as a change of pace when they decide to play with a central attacking midfielder. The 4-2-3-1 is not a shape they've used much lately, but they did it a lot in the Championship a couple of years ago ... with Grealish in the middle. I think they mostly try to avoid the physical punishment he takes in that No. 10 role by playing him a bit wider. You don't worry about that with Barkely ... he's in on loan and is a much bigger body.

Villa's recruitment has been 100% different this year. They've spent about as much as last season, but looked for quality over quantity this time. Cash and Martinez have been very good, and Watkins looks like a Godsend at striker so far. I'm a bit scared to say it, but Villa look like a mid table side now.
 
Zack Steffen had his first clean sheet for Man City against Burnley in the League Cup. He played last season at Fortuna Düsseldorf after failing to receive a work permit. He’ll be City’s 2nd choice keeper this year.
 
With the moves they made in the summer and a full season of Carlo Ancelotti, I thoughT Everton would challenge for a spot in Europe. The early returns are positive for them. They‘re dismantling Brighton 4-1 at the moment, have scored 12 goals in 4 matches and conceded 4. The Merseyside derbies should be fun this year; the first match is 2 weeks from today, it’s too bad Stanley Park will be empty
 
andyt said:
With the moves they made in the summer and a full season of Carlo Ancelotti, I thoughT Everton would challenge for a spot in Europe. The early returns are positive for them. They‘re dismantling Brighton 4-1 at the moment, have scored 12 goals in 4 matches and conceded 4. The Merseyside derbies should be fun this year; the first match is 2 weeks from today, it’s too bad Stanley Park will be empty
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Yeah ... they'll need to play their way through the inevitable crash to earth, but Everton have built a nice roster for their A List coach. Like all newly minted good teams in the EPL, they'll hit a rough patch sooner or later and the real test is how they react.
 
Liverpool laid a LARGE egg today, losing 7-2 to Aston Villa. Can’t just walk into these games thinking they’ll be handed the 3 point, sometimes they have to work for it.
 
Fred the Man said:
Liverpool laid a LARGE egg today, losing 7-2 to Aston Villa. Can’t just walk into these games thinking they’ll be handed the 3 point, sometimes they have to work for it.
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Arsenal softened them up in the League Cup.

Speaking of laying an egg, Man U didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory today. And what’s gotten into West Ham? I had them as relegation candidates but 3-0 over Leicester after 4-0 over Wolves last week?
 
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