D'Ambrosio: Dan Dan the Right Back man

With Eric Lichaj having been shown the door, what on earth will we do at right back if Matty Lowton gets a knock or a lengthy suspension? Chris Herd? Starting to sweat just thinking about that prospect. Bacuna? Well, he'd certainly do a job there but we'd much rather he was deployed further up field.

So what's the answer?

Could it be one Danilo D'Ambrosio?

The 24-year-old, with just one year remaining on his contract, is highly rated (by some) in Italy and a number of clubs - including Napoli and Inter Milan - have been sniffing around, while Di Canio's Sunderland have been linked with the player all summer.

The player's agent has hinted heavily that he will leave Torino this summer.

Torino are looking for around €4m for D'Ambrosio and Villa could easily quadruple his current salary without breaking the bank

If Villa are in for the player, expect news to leak from the Italian end early next week.

The Ashley Young Kerfuffle

When a Twitter ITK (usually stands for Idiot Talking Kobblers) posted "insider" knowledge claiming that AshleyYoung... well let's not paraphrase, here's the ruddy tweet that set the ball rolling:

Within the last hour a representative of Ashley Young #mufc has made contact with #avfc to see if a deal could be brokered for his return
— AVFC Transfer Tweet (@AVFCTransTweet) July 25, 2013

...so when that was tweeted, Twitter does what Twitter does, spread the "rumour" like wild fire, distorted it like crazy, dismissed it as bullshit, believed it like Gospel but generally made sure that Ashley Young - long since yesterday's news at Aston Villa and virtually forgotten up at Old Trafford - was back in the spotlight.

Now whatever the provence of the tweet and the tweep that sparked it, it did sort of start a debate as to whether we'd want him back.

We quite miss his song to be honest (It seems Shaun Wright Phillips wasn't keen on it, whatever happened to him?) but the player himself had been on something of a downward trajectory before he even left, with some uninspiring performances in O'Neill's final year and playing like a lost soul at times under Gerard Houllier. Stewart Downing looked better in many games.

Virtually every United player has been the subject of speculation since David Moyes rolled into Carrington. The thought that Young's people might be touting his name about isn't so far fetched, given that the World Cup is looming and a not-so-young-anymore Ashley has no guarantee of making the England squad. He needs to be playing regularly and it's a big question as to whether he will under the former Everton boss.

So while Young back to Villa is almost certainly a non-starter, it would not be a massive shock if he went somewhere.

The irony is that he may have asked his agent to dip a toe in the water. More like Ashley to dive right in...

Is there something fishy about Pescara rumours?

As Twitter rumours spread that "three Villa officials" were heading out to Pescara, the rumour mill shot into action and rookie defender Mario Capuano was quickly linked.

21 year old Italian Under 21 international Capuano was an integral part of a truly woeful Pescara defence last season. The side managed to let in a whopping EIGHTY FOUR goals in a 38 game season, half of those at home and it was this that led them to finish plumb-bottom of Serie A.

So it would seem that bringing in young Mario is hardly likely to shore up Villa's leaky defence, though the laughable performances of Vlaar and Clark in the last thirty minutes at Luton would indicate that we do need new players at the back, young Janoi Donacien being the pick of our defenders on the night.

Pescara's relegation woes have meant that they have been forced to offload players, so it may well be that we are after someone else, but quite who is a conundrum.


Meanwhile, it looks as though the majority of the "bomb squad" may have to go out on loan as their lucrative Villa contracts are making permanent deals difficult to strike.

Julie Bayley on Hiroshi Kiyotake

The following article is written by guest contributor Julie Bayley:

Hero -i –Kiyo –take - away on your timeline – So what’s all the fuss about an exciting Japanese attacking midfielder who has intimated in the past couple of days…… he rather fancies playing for the Villa!

Hiroshi Kiyotake - FC Nurnberg, Germany
NAME: Hiroshi Kiyotake

AGE: 23 (12th November, 1989)
HEIGHT: 5’ 7+”
BORN: Oita, Japan
POSITION: Midfielder AM
CLUB: Nurnberg (FCN)

Five facts about Kiyo -

1) He’s a 23-year-old attacking midfielder, just under five feet and eight inches tall and predominantly right sided.

2) He spent five-years as a youth team player at Oita Trinita before progressing into senior football with the same side in 2008.

3) He was one of the leading assist providers in the Bundesliga last season with a tally of ten, which was more than Bayern Munich’s latest signing Mario Gotze (€37M)

4) He was also one of the most accurate passers in the Nurnberg side last season, with a pass completed rate of 81.3% and just under three key passes per game.

5) He has played for Japan at three different levels so far during his career, making 18 appearances at senior level scoring just one goal in the process

For those Villa fans who have no idea who he is - here’s a quick run down on why I think Kiyo to Villa could be one of THE signings of this Summer’s transfer window in the EPL.

Bio….

Born in Oita, Kiyotake joined his first club Katiora FC at the age of 13, before two-years later joining the youth ranks of his local J-League side Oita Trinita. At the age of 17 he made his senior debut and scored the equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Shimizu S-Pulse. Within months his was a first-team regular and has never looked back.

In 2010, Cerezo Osaka sold their star midfielder Shinji Kagawa to Borussia Dortmund and they immediately turned their attention to Kiyotake and took advantage of Oita's poor financial position to get him. Kiyotake stepped into Kagawa's shoes very well and later that same season was called into Japan's national squad for the first time, making his debut against South Korea. He was called into Japan's squad for the Olympics in 2012, but before they had begun - he was again following in the footsteps of Kagawa as he agreed a move to the Bundesliga with Nurnberg (FCN) paying £1million for his signature.

His first season in Europe was a massive one for Kiyotake, scoring four goals and grabbing ten-assists - more than Mario Gotze. After only one season he quickly caught the eye and became FCN’s best player. If you ask a lot of coaches the Bundesliga is one of the toughest most technical leagues in Europe more than rivalling La Liga - and for a small statured “tsushyaya” (loosely translates as winger) to stand out in that league – he must be a decent player!

International Recognition for Japan….

Along with Kagawa and Takashi Inui, Kiyotake is among a clutch of rising young attacking midfielders that give the Samurai Blue coach Alberto Zaccheroni plenty of options to choose from. A tireless worker off the ball, Kiyotake possesses a fearsome long-range shot and his inch-perfect through-balls can unlock almost any defence. Kiyotake made his full international debut in 2011 and has featured in qualification matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil. His free-flowing performances at the 2012 London Olympics guided Japan to a stunning victory against Spain in the group stage and an eventual fourth-place finish. His goalscoring is also a big thing, he has an outstanding eye for goal and many feel he has everything in his armoury to be the complete attacking midfielder.

On top of an impressive first season in the Bundesliga – Kiyotake also impressed at this Summer’s Federation Cup in Brazil where it was rumoured Villa had scouts watching potential targets like Ideye etc.

Premier League comes calling Summer 2013…

It is little surprise that Kiyotake therefore found himself a target of at least one English Premier League club this Summer. The comparison is an easy one, with Kagawa now plying his trade at Old Trafford, and it is a valid one - they are very similar in stature and technique. Kiyotake has an outstanding football brain and he loves to play in the hole behind the forward line, where he can pick a pass or drive into space.

As any follower of Hiroshi’s twitter feed @13_Hiroshi - will know Kiyo & Shinji Kagawa remain good friends. In fact they were recently seen in bed together as part of a publicity campaign!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BO02CAjCIAE_3DO.jpg:large

There were rumours in January that Kiyo was not happy at FCN, he didn’t like where they were playing him out of position and he was hankering for a move to England to join the success his friend and international teammate Kagawa was enjoying under Alex Ferguson.

So it comes as no surprise that Paul Lambert and Aston Villa soon came knocking on Martin Bhader’s door in mid-June in an attempt to prize this exciting, creative midfielder away from Nurnberg. At first rebuffed soundly

“I am able to confirm this transfer enquiry from Aston Villa. We have made it clear to Aston Villa we have no interest nor intention to sell the player,” said the club’s general manager Martin Bader.

Sky Sports Summer Scout Report

Despite the rebuttal it became rumoured that in fact Kiyo had a release clause in his contract and sure enough at the alleged 3rd attempt of €8.5M - Randy Lerner’s coffers triggered the clause and Kiyotake became a potential Villa signing. 

To the people who got wind of all this, the agent’s apparent reassurances of Kiyo’s desire to play for Aston Villa 110%, must have been music to the two Pauls' ears at a time when their own star striker Christian Benteke was demonstrating an opposite viewpoint. It will be surely to Benteke’s loss and ironic - if he ends up leaving the football club who allowed him to ply his trade last season - at the very time when they might sign a player who could have unlocked his potential even further during a second season at Villa. Like some of our other Summer signings….methinks Kiyo would be a real coup and probably the biggest to date….

A few comments about Hiroshi Kiyotake ….

One Bundesliga journalist who became aware of Villa’s interest this Summer was asked which Premier League player he most would compare Kiyotake too the most? His answer “Modric I think, but possibly even better!”

One FCN fan who I had a twitter conversation about a possible move for Kiyo to Villa tweeted this….

@JulieBayleyIFA @Omariqy @JamesNursey Don't take our #tsubasa away.... ;-) #fcn #kiyotake
— Molis Biggah (@MolisBiggah) July 13, 2013

@JulieBayleyIFA Forget Ocean's 11, forget Italian job, forget... #Tsubasa is a real coup! #fcn #avfc #kiyotake pic.twitter.com/fHq9VgzUCO
— Molis Biggah (@MolisBiggah) July 13, 2013

Situation as at 18.07.2013

After leaving Tokyo for a few days holiday it’s thought to Oita where he was born - Kiyo was besieged by Japanese journalists asking him about a possible move to Aston Villa at the airport on his way back to Germany to join up with his teammates. Far from dismissing the transfer, Kiyo told reporters that “he hadn’t heard anything yet” but was pleased to hear of all the speculation regarding this potential transfer from Germany. In an interview available on You tube he also apparently referred to FCN being halfway to his goal ie B6

Being FCN’s best player obviously his return attracted media attention in Germany, so he was interviewed by Bundesliga journalists and of course yet again the question of a possible move to Villa came up. Again far from dismissing reports he said he appreciated very much the offer from Villa but he refused to say whether he would complete the signing or stay at FCN. He also said he did not know what the future held for him in the coming weeks but in the meantime his focus would be to prepare for the new season with Nuremburg. A diplomatic, perfect response from a top professional. As compared to….. oh well let’s not go there….

So something seems to be in the air over all this speculation on Kiyo to Villa

Let’s hope Villa land this brilliant attacking No 13 whose guile and footballing skills would grace any club in the Premiership and probably Europe in many people’s opinion.


Fortune favours the brave *Captain Tsubasa!!! Follow @13_Hiroshi

JulieB

*Captain Tsubasa is the name of a fearless cartoon footballer character in Japan who is a cult hero over there…it loosely translates as winger/attacker - Wiki Link to Captain Tsubasa

Thanks to Kuro @footballotaku8 for his translation of Japanese articles and keeping us all updated

Is Shay a Wild Rover? Given Doncaster Bound?

The Daily Mail is carrying an "exclusive" report on its website that Shay Given is to join Doncaster Rovers.

They report that the club is to take Villa's goalie on a season long loan following funds made available from "a group of Irish investors".

Aston Villa would probably have preferred to ship the Irish international out on a permanent deal, but his high salary coupled with the length left on his contract was always going to make that outcome difficult to achieve.

Rovers boss Paul Dickov will see Given as an ideal successor to 43 year old Neil Sullivan who was confirmed to have left the club yesterday.

We wait to see whether Doncaster's new investors will also show an interest in Stephen Ireland, Darren O'Bent or Alan O'Hutton.

Belhanda: doing a David Unsworth?

The transfer saga surrounding Younès Belhanda  still refuses to die, despite the fact that the player had apparently signed for Dynamo Kiev over the weekend.

The 23 year old Moroccan international was paraded in front of Kiev fans during a match with Zenit St Petersburg at the weekend, grasping the number 90 shirt alongside fellow new recruits, Dieumerci Mbokani, from Monaco and Jeremain Lens from AZ Alkmaar.


However, reports in respected French media outlets now suggest that the player has done a David Unsworth and decided he doesn't want to play in the Ukraine after all.

Confusion surrounds the deal, but it seems unlikely that the Ukrainian club would have paraded the talented midfield star without him having put pen to paper on some form of contract.

A Twitter storm has surrounded the rumours that Belhanda was a Villa target, with British journalists reporting that Villa had no interest in the player, while European sources suggested that we were in the mix, leading many of Villa's more vocal tweeps to line up on either side of an increasingly bad-tempered debate.

It remains to be seen whether Belhanda's "flip-flop" will lessen his appeal to other interested parties, but the player has made it known that his preference was the Bundesliga or the the Premier League.