A hugely positive window so far.
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00:00And on to Aston Villa, obviously, you know, an incredible transfer window so far, so many
00:06names coming in, so many top players as well have just signed Everton's, you know, one
00:12of their star men last season, really, or one of the players who look fantastic in terms
00:17of potential for the future in Amadou Anana. I mean, there's players coming in all from
00:23all walks of the European stage that's certainly going to bide them well for their Champions
00:28League run next season. What can you comment about Villa's transfer window? Because I mean,
00:35was this sort of expected from Unai Emery's side because there are some fantastic additions
00:39going into this new campaign?
00:40Well, the transfer window started with everyone thinking that Villa were going to get worse
00:45and they're going to have to sell players to comply with the Premier League's profit
00:49and sustainability regulations. In the end, the sale of Douglas Luiz de Juventus, which
00:54actually brought in a couple of players for Villa themselves, sorted that out. We've seen
00:59Moussa Diaby since leave as well for Al-Etihad, which, a bit of a strange one, is his ambitions
01:04have they dropped a little bit. Not the best first season, but not the worst either. Still
01:08got into double figures when it came to goals and assists and they look promising at times.
01:12Not in Emery's plans at the end of the season, it seemed though, and now he has moved on for
01:16pretty much the same fee he was signed, over 50 million, and that has allowed them to bring
01:20in Anana for around 50 million, knowing that that was going to happen. And they've still
01:24got more funds to play with because they've managed to get over the line with the deadline
01:28for the PSR rules. So, it's a very exciting time to be an Aston Villa fan, I think, and
01:33obviously you are losing two players in Luiz and Diaby who were key last season, but you're
01:37also bringing in some very exciting players. Matson, I think, is one that a lot of fans
01:42will be keen to see from Chelsea and is, of course, on loan at Dortmund last season,
01:47impressing in the Champions League, giving the Champions League a team of the season.
01:52Other players that they've brought in, it's such a long list and I have to look at them,
01:56Bajedin Filajin, of course, coming back from Hull City. He was sold about 12 months ago and he's
02:01come back already, looks like a really promising winger. Lewis Dobbin from Everton as a youngster,
02:06of course, Ross Barkley, the experienced midfielder. I could go on and on. Lots of
02:11squad debt being added and I think plenty of them have opportunities to shine under Unai Emery.
02:17Yeah, obviously the Moussa Diaby situation, quite a strange one, a fantastic season last time out.
02:24Maybe just another sort of case of a player going more for the financial situation over to Saudi,
02:30only 25 years of age. Could have been a fantastic career in Europe, but he's decided to opt for
02:37Saudi. And the fact he could have played in the Champions League as well. He left Leverkusen when
02:42they were in a decent position. Of course, they went on to win the league, came to Villa. It's
02:45not a bad decision, is it? They've got the top four in the Premier League and that shows ambition.
02:50He turned down a move to Saudi last summer and now he goes back on himself when he's entering
02:54his prime. He goes out there. So whether it's money, well, I'm not going to comment too much
02:59on that, but I think a lot of fans would have hoped he would have stayed around and tried to
03:05help Villa in the Champions League. But if he doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to be
03:08here and Villa will improve with those funds.