Remy Interest Is a Red Herring -- he's staying

Remy interest is a red herring -- he's staying

Posted by Sean Smith


I am finding it increasingly difficult to believe the rumours surrounding Loic Remy's departure from QPR before the start of the season -- mainly because they just don't add up.

The bookies seem to think that Newcastle United are the front-runners to grab the Frenchman's signature before the summer transfer window closes Sept. 2. But wages will be a major sticking point. Newcastle's wage structure means that Remy will become the largest earner at the club if he travels to the North East -- and one wonders whether Joe Kinnear will be pushed into panic buying.

Certainly, Alan Pardew is starting to make noises about his need for a striker, but the manager is rather out of the loop since the new structure has been put in place. Remy, though, would be a major risk considering the impending decision on any charges against him -- which won't be announced until after the window closes.

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West Ham, too, have been making noises about signing Remy, but that literally doesn't add up. At the tail end of last season, Sam Allardyce suggested that because of the financial fair play rules that kick in at the start of this season, West Ham could do little business after spending £15.5m (which has risen to £17.5m) on Andy Carroll.

With a £70m debt needed to be paid off before they are allowed to take tenancy of the Olympic Stadium, money is expected to be very tight at the Boleyn Ground for the foreseeable future.

Then there are Spurs, who have also been mentioned in dispatches. Spurs owner Daniel Levy has a reputation for being strict with his money in the transfer market, which makes it very unlikely will splash the cash on a player not certain to be playing football this time next year. Even with any money from a sale of Gareth Bale, Remy to Tottenham is exceedingly unlikely. He has no value.

I am going to take it as read that the top four are not going to touch him with a bargepole, so perhaps he will go abroad.

If QPR want to keep him, which they do, they have actually done themselves a favour by giving him such a lucrative contract. As we have seen with the fact that Marseille -- one of the top three Ligue 1 clubs -- cannot afford Joey Barton, it is fair to say that Remy is priced out of a return home.

If they can't afford him at home, then they most certainly won't be interested in buying him in Germany, where the financial models are as tight as a drum.

That probably just leaves the more slapdash of territories when it comes to signing the great and the good. Obviously, QPR have done some good business with Russian megabucks club Anzhi Makhachkala, but lightning is unlikely to strike twice. So all that is left is the oil-rich Gulf states.

Remy just does not fit their model. For a start, he still wants to get on the plane to Brazil, and playing for a two-bit club in the UAE or Qatar will guarantee he is overlooked next summer. Perhaps his only chance is to wait it out in the Championship and impress enough to get a big-money move to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

Or, if he really starts scoring for fun, he may become the first second-tier English football player to grab a squad place for France. Now that would be something.

Whatever. He's staying.

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/queensparkrangers/id/1087?&cc=5739

Follow Sean Smith on Twitter @seanshorn

About the Author

Sean Smith is a reporter for the Financial Times and has been a football reporter at a number of prestigious establishments, including ESPN towers. He first caught the bug watching a Stan Bowles-inspired QPR overrun a star-studded Man City side in 1978, just two years after almost winning the title. It should be no surprise to anyone that QPR were relegated that year. you can follow him on twitter at @seanshorn

 

I hope Sean Smith is right.