Most Charlton fans were surprised to learn that mighty Arsenal were making moves for Carl Jenkinson. They were also pleasantly pleased to learn that they were prepared to pay "£1m" for him. After all, this was a 19 year-old who was being kept out of the side by an erratic Simon Francis and who was quickly dropped by Phil Parkinson after an impressive Brentford debut. He only made eight appearances but would have retained his place under Powell had it not been for the Arsenal contact.
Transfer news in recent weeks concerning English players (Jenkinson qualifies for Finland) moving to the top clubs has been dominated by relatively obscure players moving for huge sums of money. It started before the end of the season with Andy Carroll's eye-watering £35m move to Liverpool. Carroll may have made 80 appearances for the Toon and netted 30 goals but he is only two years older than Jenkinson and my view was Liverpool paid way over the odds simply because they were awash with £50m from the Torres deal and were desperate to appease their disgruntled supporters.
If it's a tad harsh describing Carroll as relatively obscure, perhaps Jordan Henderson fits the bill better? In recent weeks, Jordan Henderson has moved to Liverpool for £20m. This a 21 year-old with 71 appearances and four goals for Sunderland.
Eighteen year-old Connor Wickham is also being lined-up for a "£12m" move from Ipswich with Norwich and Liverpool reportedly interested. As a striker, Connor has netted 13 goals in 65 appearances in the Championship.
Oh yes and this week it's Phil Jones. Phil is a 19 year old defender with Blackburn who has managed 35 appearances. He's being touted for Man United for a bargain £16m.
Smaller clubs like us need to look and learn. We need to be prepared to tie our youngsters in better and to hold onto them for a bit longer so they can make the requisite number of appearances to ratchet up the interest and the price. This has long been the case but the silly money being thrown around now makes that even more relevant today.
I noticed too whilst checking the facts here that a number of these players are being justified as the next someone or other e.g. Connor Wickham is apparently the "next Alan Shearer" and Jordan Henderson the "best young footballer in Britain." Perhaps that was the justification for their inflated transfer fees? Only I then read that Carl Jenkinson is "the next Tony Adams."
Transfer news in recent weeks concerning English players (Jenkinson qualifies for Finland) moving to the top clubs has been dominated by relatively obscure players moving for huge sums of money. It started before the end of the season with Andy Carroll's eye-watering £35m move to Liverpool. Carroll may have made 80 appearances for the Toon and netted 30 goals but he is only two years older than Jenkinson and my view was Liverpool paid way over the odds simply because they were awash with £50m from the Torres deal and were desperate to appease their disgruntled supporters.
If it's a tad harsh describing Carroll as relatively obscure, perhaps Jordan Henderson fits the bill better? In recent weeks, Jordan Henderson has moved to Liverpool for £20m. This a 21 year-old with 71 appearances and four goals for Sunderland.
Eighteen year-old Connor Wickham is also being lined-up for a "£12m" move from Ipswich with Norwich and Liverpool reportedly interested. As a striker, Connor has netted 13 goals in 65 appearances in the Championship.
Oh yes and this week it's Phil Jones. Phil is a 19 year old defender with Blackburn who has managed 35 appearances. He's being touted for Man United for a bargain £16m.
Smaller clubs like us need to look and learn. We need to be prepared to tie our youngsters in better and to hold onto them for a bit longer so they can make the requisite number of appearances to ratchet up the interest and the price. This has long been the case but the silly money being thrown around now makes that even more relevant today.
I noticed too whilst checking the facts here that a number of these players are being justified as the next someone or other e.g. Connor Wickham is apparently the "next Alan Shearer" and Jordan Henderson the "best young footballer in Britain." Perhaps that was the justification for their inflated transfer fees? Only I then read that Carl Jenkinson is "the next Tony Adams."
It makes Shelvey's fee look a bargain too.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair CA we knew Shelvey was a bargain at the time. What makes the other deals much higher is that their clubs (especially in the Prem) are not desperate for the money, so don't NEED to sell like we did twelve months ago.
ReplyDeleteStill hurts like Hell though.