I have a feeling it's going to get busy next week. I have no basis for this it's just a feeling and seeing as it's gone very quiet on all things Aston Villa, I'm putting that down to how busy it is going to get get. I think some call it 'the quiet before the storm'.
It might not happen but like I've said, I sort of have a feeling. The players are back for pre-season next week and we have our first pre-season match in just under two weeks and we all know, Martin O'Neill included, that it would be better to have his new players in for pre-season and I just think he might do it this season.
So, to the rumours. The first one is that John Carew is off and we're replacing him with the 22 year old Swedish U21 striker Marcus Berg. We've done the Berg rumour so we're not going to go into that but the Carew one is sort of new, in so much that it really has come out of nowhere.
Yes, he is a favourite of the fans and yes Martin O'Neill has said all the right things but I fancy if we got a nice enough offer and John Carew was getting paid just as much or a little bit more, he'd be off. I know what he's said but he is just another bloke wanting to earn as much as he can and given the chance to earn £5k extra a week, he probably would, despite the 'words of affection' towards Villa and his previous six clubs.
But, it is just speculation and it has come out of nowhere but if Carew leaves, I wouldn't be surprised and I don't think any of us should be. Ashley Young on the other hand can not be allowed to leave and if anything, we should be signing him up to a long contract extension, but I'm going off track, so back to the rumours.
Rumour number two today is that Bentley is as good as done and he'll be here next week for about £8mn. and you all know I like Bentley and I think this would be a good signing. If Bentley can do anything better than most other players it is deliver a ball and if we have Milner working just inside him and doing all the hard work for Bentley to then whip something in, I'd be happy with that.
Again, it is just speculation, but I'd like Bentley although I can't say for sure how much I'd like Miguel Veloso. There is growing speculation that he is on his way too and I'm mostly unsure because I can't actually remember anything about him, or maybe I can, I'm really not sure.
But, I do think it is coming soon and if we can really add to the quality and bring in the right number of players then it could make for an exciting summer. I know I'm making it sound very simple, but it really does come down to the quality and number of players we get. Can Lerner and O'Neill bring them is, that is the question?