Aston Villa, Wolves, West Brom and Birmingham City updates
Long version of Q&A with BirminghamWorld
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00:00 So Charlie, a huge signing for Aston Villa in Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.
00:05 What does that mean for Aston Villa now?
00:07 Because we've spoken multiple times on Emre wanting that winger with that bit of quality.
00:13 It looks like he's certainly got that.
00:16 Yeah, finally.
00:17 After months and months of looking for one and sort of speculation, they have got that
00:21 winger and they've had to fight off sides in Saudi Arabia for his signature.
00:26 £50 million from Moussa Diaby, might seem like a lot of money, but he's not exactly
00:30 old yet.
00:31 He's definitely heading into his prime.
00:32 He's scored 49 goals and got 48 assists and 172 Leverkusen games, which is a pretty good
00:39 return over, you know, it's averaging more than goal involvement every two games.
00:45 That's pretty impressive.
00:46 And also has the qualities is the most important thing.
00:49 Emre's been looking for someone who's direct, quick, has some skill.
00:53 Diaby clocked some of the top speeds in the Bundesliga last season and the season before
00:57 that as well.
00:58 So he definitely clocks those.
00:59 And he can play on either side.
01:02 He's quite two footed, which is quite key.
01:04 And he's definitely nimble, clinical.
01:05 He's got that creative edge.
01:07 As I said, 49 goals, 48 assists.
01:09 There's not exactly much difference there between his creative and his finishing output.
01:13 So very exciting addition indeed.
01:15 I don't think Villa are done there just yet either.
01:18 Of course, they've already got Yuri Tieleman on a free deal.
01:21 Al Tares as well from Villarreal at centre back for 30 odd million pounds.
01:25 And they'll probably be bringing in some more additions as well.
01:27 So very exciting season to come for Villa.
01:29 And I think Diaby is going to have a big impact.
01:31 Yeah.
01:32 And just on on outgoings, possibly, there's obviously rumours to Emre Martinez's departure.
01:38 What can you sort of tell us about that and any sort of general transfer roundups moving
01:42 forward for Villa?
01:43 Yeah, a bit of a surprise one that Emre Martinez.
01:46 It's been rumoured that Inter Milan have offered 13 million pounds for him.
01:50 It's been quite widely speculated, actually.
01:53 But Fabrizio Romano has since come out and said that Inter are going for Jan Sommer instead
01:58 and not Emre Martinez.
01:59 So that kind of rubbishes that one.
02:02 My instinct on it was that can't be true.
02:04 He's worth way more than that.
02:06 Kind of which glove are they trying to buy with that fee?
02:09 And also the fact he's spoken plenty about how he wants to win trophies of Aston Villa.
02:14 Looks dedicated.
02:15 Loves the club, loves the fan base and seems like working with Unai Emre as well.
02:20 So I don't think there's anything in that one.
02:22 Kieran Tierney, who's been linked all summer long, has said that he's not even spoken to
02:27 Mikel Arteta about leaving Arsenal this summer.
02:30 So that one kind of take what you want from that.
02:32 But he's also said that he's not played as much as he'd like to.
02:36 But he's hoped, considering he's put so much effort in and he's not been injured.
02:40 So potentially some movement there.
02:42 And then finally, Wesley Moraris, who I think that's how you pronounce it anyway, the striker
02:46 he signed from Club Bridge a few years back for 22 million.
02:50 Quite forgotten, really.
02:51 And a lot of people won't believe he's still a Villa player.
02:54 He's been linked with a potential loan to Watford in the championship.
02:58 So worth keeping an eye on that one.
02:59 Charlie, in terms of Wolves, I mean, Jimenez on his way out to Fulham, pretty much all
03:04 but done now.
03:05 And also Ryan Giles set to leave despite a great season in the championship.
03:09 What can you sort of tell us that's going on with him on the new?
03:13 Yeah, the Raul Jimenez is probably the main one, of course, because he's kind of, well,
03:16 it's something I want to ask you, actually, whether you think he's a club legend.
03:20 But going on to kind of the stats, first of all, 57 goals and 166 appearances, of course,
03:25 vital to all some of their best recent years, at least obviously going into Europe as well
03:31 and scoring some crucial goals for Wanderers.
03:35 Leaving now after a couple of disappointing seasons, wasn't quite the same after his head
03:39 injury against Arsenal.
03:41 Do you think Jimenez is a club legend as a Wolves fan yourself?
03:44 Because from my perspective as an outsider, he's got to be up there.
03:48 Yeah, he has to be.
03:50 I mean, just, you know, we're used to over time in my year, you know, my lifetime, especially
03:56 there's never really been that, you know, number nine that, yes, he's got that fan,
04:02 you know, fan connection, which you look at Sylvain Ebanks, Blake, every fan loved him
04:06 as a Wolves fan, but he didn't quite have that quality and Jimenez just did.
04:11 And he was amazing when he was really at his pump in sort of 2019, 2020, you know, COVID
04:17 really did hurt Wolves as a whole.
04:20 Obviously, the injury then came for Jimenez and it was so tough for every Wolves fan to
04:25 see that sort of downfall because he was so reliable, so clever, so, you know, just clinical
04:32 in front of goal.
04:33 And we haven't seen that really since Steve Ball really as a club.
04:37 So yeah, definitely one of the best Wolves players in my lifetime.
04:42 And certainly I'd say he will go down as a Wolves legend.
04:46 Yeah, you know, he also did a huge job of making the club big in Mexico.
04:51 I mean, a lot of Wolves videos, if you put them on YouTube when he was really in his
04:56 prime and you just put Jimenez in the title, you'd get 10k views in the first sort of couple
05:01 hours.
05:02 It's absolutely crazy that the sort of love that they're giving in Mexico and you can
05:06 understand why.
05:07 So yeah, definitely a Wolves legend for me.
05:09 Yeah, I probably agree from that, from my perspective, you can't really disagree.
05:13 But of course, going to Fulham now, a fellow Premier League side, and I'm sure yourself
05:18 and other Wolves fans will be hoping he does well, maybe not too well, especially against
05:22 Wolves, but £5.5 million, some sort of fee, he could have been leaving on a free pretty
05:27 soon.
05:28 So not too bad at all for Wolves.
05:30 Ryan Giles is another interesting one, because of course, 11 assists in the championship
05:35 last season, missed just one game for Middlesbrough.
05:39 Such a versatile player as well.
05:40 You can put him on either side, you can put him in midfield, on the wing, probably even
05:44 near the front.
05:46 He's got such a, he's very well rounded.
05:49 I'm quite surprised personally that he's going to go, but it seems that Luton Town want to
05:53 sign him and could go for as few as £5 million.
05:58 So a big surprise there.
06:00 I thought he might be wanted because of just how versatile he is and he's got some talent,
06:05 but he's just not been given that opportunity.
06:07 Lopetegui does seem to be quite ruthless though, doesn't he?
06:10 With players like him, just if he hasn't, if not given a chance, that's kind of it.
06:15 Yeah, definitely.
06:16 I think Giles, he's done brilliant last season, but a lot of fans that maybe haven't seen
06:21 Wolves have just sort of forgotten that he has had a spell at the club.
06:26 He has had a couple of failed spells really, went down to Shrewsbury I believe, he was
06:31 good there as well.
06:32 But yeah, I think maybe it was a case of he's properly found his level in the Championship.
06:37 You could probably say the same with left-back Barry Douglas, you know, when he was at Wolves
06:41 under Nuna in the Championship.
06:44 Absolutely stunning.
06:45 I would like to see him give a chance in the Premier League, as I would have with Ryan
06:49 Giles, but maybe, you know, the manager sees more than us, don't they?
06:54 They see them every day in the training camp and they can make probably better decisions.
07:00 That's what they're paid to do.
07:01 So yeah, you've got to sort of trust Lopetegui's judgement on this, but I think maybe a club
07:06 like Luton would really suit Giles, his sort of quality, and he can find his feet and go
07:12 from there.
07:13 So yeah, it's not the worst business.
07:16 Maybe it's a missed opportunity for Wolves and they might come to regret it, but I think
07:21 it could be worse, definitely, I'd say.
07:24 Charlie, on to Birmingham City, obviously some really heartfelt news involving Trevor
07:30 Francis, a club legend really.
07:32 Obviously, he won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest as well, scored that goal.
07:37 I mean, just an incredible football icon in this country and, you know, Blues fans will
07:42 certainly be feeling this one and it will sort of hurt.
07:46 What sort of tributes have been going on that you can tell us about Trevor Francis?
07:50 Yeah, lots of tributes for Trevor Francis.
07:53 Of course, known globally for his back-to-back European wins at Nottingham Forest, over two
07:58 and three years, but he started at Birmingham City and he's seen as a god and nothing less
08:03 really for by Blues.
08:06 A club legend, arguably the greatest player in Birmingham City history.
08:11 There's been so many tributes put out from the club to ex-players, to ex-managers.
08:15 Of course, he did have a managerial spell at St Andrews for about five or six years
08:19 as well.
08:20 But such a key player, such a key figure at the club and there's actually talks of him
08:24 potentially at the age of 69 coming in and having some sort of involvement with the new
08:30 ownership.
08:31 Of course, that won't happen now.
08:33 Tragic news, he did die over at a holiday home in Marbella, Spain.
08:36 So also the first player, the first British player to be sold for a £1 million transfer
08:42 fee.
08:43 So historic player, someone who's created such an impact on football in general and
08:48 someone who we dearly miss.
08:50 On Birmingham City's transfer, they're not slowing down as we spoke about.
08:54 What's the latest you can tell us on that front?
08:57 Yes, so eight signings already from Birmingham and the most in an entire championship at
09:03 the moment.
09:04 There's definitely a rebuild going on.
09:06 All of those loans that expired, the contracts that expired, a few have been re-signed.
09:10 The likes of Dion Sanders and Christian Bielik and Kevin Long, but lots of new faces as well.
09:16 Another one that could be coming in, left back.
09:18 They want to get a new left back because Emmanuel Longelo at the moment is probably the only
09:22 real option there.
09:23 And he's more of a left wing back, if anything.
09:26 Lieberkanen from Werder Bremen, now ex-Derby County player, 22 years of age, went out to
09:31 the Bundesliga.
09:32 Quite an ambitious move, really.
09:34 Hasn't really paid off.
09:35 He scored one goal against Dortmund, which is what fans over there kind of joked as had
09:39 been his only involvement because most of the time he's just played off the bench.
09:43 Already being allowed to leave.
09:45 Bremen and Swansea are the two clubs that have been heavily linked.
09:48 And today, as we're recording, Werder Bremen have said that he's left their pre-season
09:52 camp in Austria to complete a move.
09:55 The club hasn't been named, but this is definitely one to keep an eye on because there is a concrete
10:00 interest from Birmingham and it could well be the club that Buchanan is going to.
10:05 Finally, Charlie, on West Brom, a disappointing pre-season so far.
10:10 Maybe something to not look too into and that there's more pre-season games to come.
10:14 What can you tell us that they're doing to get right in this off-season?
10:17 Yeah, so four games played so far from the baggies.
10:22 The first one was decent.
10:23 It's a 3-1 win over Shrewsbury Town.
10:25 You'd expect them to beat Shrewsbury, a lower league opposition, but then a 1-0 defeat to
10:29 Cheltenham Town three days later.
10:31 A day later, obviously very rotated, given how close together the games are.
10:36 A 2-2 draw against Salford City and then another 2-2 draw against Burton Albion three days
10:42 after that.
10:43 So not very convincing on any part, really.
10:45 Of course, there's lots of youngsters being played, not exactly full-strength squads,
10:49 plenty of injuries.
10:50 Dara O'Shea, the captain, has left.
10:53 Not really a proper out-on-out strike other than Brandon Thomas Asante at the moment.
10:58 So maybe Jovan Malcom as well.
11:01 It's not looking convincing in pre-season, to say the least, but this is Carlos Corbijn's
11:05 opportunity to experiment and West Brom fans shouldn't panic too much.
11:09 He's already spoken to the manager about how he's going to try and have new positions for
11:13 players, new roles in the team.
11:15 It probably isn't very reflective of what the season is actually going to look like.
11:19 Pre-season is often like that.
11:20 But if you're going off just the results, not the most promising signs at the moment
11:24 for the baggies.