A difficult one....parents sign the children into the academies....can you morally hold a 16-yr-old child to a commitment by his parents? There are rules in place for compensation in these cases and the compo continues for every subsequent sale...it may work out quite well in the long run and provide income for the academy concerned.
It’s a tricky one, academy prospects are not really under contract with a club. The media uses the term transfer fee, but in reality it’s compensation. To be crude, clubs can’t own children and they should be free to move, just like with any other form of education. Trouble is we all know that these moves rarely happen for the “right” reasons, but that’s on the conscious of the parents/player Edit: Just noticed Fran posted a similar point (great minds) - I shouldn’t eat breakfast in the middle of writing posts
I agree, yet I believe there should be a code of conduct or a duty of care, that prevents it happening. If a player is wanted at 16, then he’s likely to be wanted at 19. Sam Gallagher is a good example. We signed him from Plymouth at 16 to be a prospect. I can’t help but wonder if he’d stayed there, that he’d have been playing regular first team football at 17, 18, 19 in league 1 or league 2, which could have made him progress quicker. It’s all hypothetical but I just don’t like the fact that the big sharks (including Saints) can swim in and pick who they want.
Compo is an important point as it is due on every subsequent sale if you had the player from a young age...and you have to apply for it. Smaller clubs often don't realise that...Saints are all over it. For instance we wouldn't get major money if Bale sold on, but we could apply for compensation for his Academy years. Can mount up when you have as many players as we have working in football. A few years back there was an effort to inform small football clubs of this...useful money for someone running a little local club.
Agreed Fran, that part is there to help financially (although it’s not quite the same as selling a player a couple of years later for a bumper fee), but I also was thinking about the player. Sometimes it is better to develop in a big pool, sometimes you get held back and are better developing at that young age in a smaller pool with first team football. When I was a nipper I took the wrong decision along those lines.* * cue abuse.
Leicester City have joined Everton, Southampton, Tottenham and West Ham in wanting to sign 24-year-old Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic from Fulham following the Craven Cottage club's relegation from the Premier League. (Sportski Zurnal, via Leicester Mercury)
Doubt we will in for him as Ralph wants players to work, one reason Rafa let him go was because his work rate was low.
I guess it’s like book smarts versus street smarts. Academy football is not exactly all theory, but there must be a dip in intensity compared with the lower leagues. I think some players need that pressure to bring the best out of them. We’ve seen just this season with saints on how big a factor confidence can be. It must be very easy for a young footballer to slip through the cracks and lose that confidence when they’re not seeing much football during these formative years.
https://southampton.vitalfootball.c...-hasenhuttl-unfazed-by-latest-injury-setback/ Ralph confirms that Lemina has had a set back after returning to training, but says that it is not unusual after a lay-off due to surgery...feels that we will see him again this season.
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/1...anager-ralph-hasenhuttl-hails-nathan-redmond/ Ralph discusses Redmond and his importance to the team.
