Vesper

Boga buyback is not £3m it is 15m euros or around £12.7m https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2874702-sassuolo-ceo-discusses-jeremie-boga-buyback-clause-amid-chelsea-return-rumours

Jorginho's Agent on Chelsea to Juventus Transfer: 'Anything Can Happen' https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2875369-jorginhos-agent-on-chelsea-to-juventus-transfer-anything-can-happen The agent of Chelsea's Jorginho has doubled down on his stance that the midfielder might leave Stamford Bridge this summer, saying "anything could happen" in regard to a transfer to Juventus. The 28-year-old previously played under coach Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea and Napoli, and the tactician's move to Juve in 2019 has led to speculation of another reunion, this time in Turin. Jorginho's representative, Joao Santos, told TuttoJuve.com (h/t Football Italia) they are ready to consider their options "from Italy, France and England," singling out Juventus as a desirable destination: "Anything can happen in the transfer market. I said 'why not?' to Juventus because Jorginho has a three-year contract with Chelsea, so the priority is clearly to remain there, but we could also evaluate leaving the club in July. snip

Chelsea loanee Jake Clarke-Salter earns rave reviews from Birmingham fans https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/club-news/chelsea-loanee-jake-clarke-salter-earns-rave-reviews-from-birmingham-fans/ Chelsea defender Jake Clarke-Salter has earned rave reviews during his loan spell with Birmingham City, as some of their supporters on Twitter were blown away by his latest performance . Birmingham recored a 3-1 away victory at Bristol City on Friday night in the Championship and Chelsea loanee Clarke-Salter completed 90 minutes in defence. The 22-year-old centre-back has been out on loan at St Andrew’s for the season and is now starting to make a real solid impact in the team. It was his 14th appearance of the campaign in the win over Bristol City and he was an extremely imposing figure at the back, as he won aerial battles and was calm in possession. Clarke-Salter is a product to come out of the Chelsea academy and has played twice at senior level for the club. But he’s had a number of loan spells away from Stamford Bridge in recent years to try help his development and it looks like he’s finding some form. After spells with Bristol Rovers and Sunderland as a youngster, he enjoyed a successful stint in Holland with Vitesse Arnhem for the whole of last season.

Undercover reporter films anti-Semitic Chelsea fans making Nazi salutes, singing about 'Yids' and imitating a gas chamber in Lille... as new BBC film exposes the staggering growth of racism in football https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-7969417/Chelsea-fans-caught-making-Nazi-salutes-singing-Yids-imitating-gas-chamber.html snip Three of the most sickening incidents featured took place in France on October 2 last year, the day Frank Lampard's side beat Lille 2-1 in the Champions League. Although the behaviour of Chelsea supporters was not made public at the time, an undercover reporter captured the shameful scenes as fans took over the French city. In one clip, Blues supporters can be seen outside singing an anti-Semitic song about their London rivals, Tottenham. A group of supporters are heard chanting: 'We hate Tottenham - Yids! We hate Tottenham - Yids!', with two individuals appearing to make Nazi salutes. In another clip, a fan can be seen leading a song about former Spurs striker Martin Chivers while riding a train. The lyrics are: 'Chivers was a Jew. The thing between his eyes was twice the normal size. Yiddo, Yiddo, Yiddo.' ffs

2 1 Richarlison roasted Cahill

the state of EPL goalkeeping is HORRIFIC overall

lol Pickford the shitbox with a howler 1 1

Zaha has looked pathetic all season what a waste

Everton v Crystal PalaceHD Streams http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-everton-vs-crystal-palace-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/everton/

Strakosha was my number one target in 2018 after Meret was signed. I agree on Onana too. Flip a coin. Predrag Rajković rounds out my top 3.

‘He had everything’- Lazio star could fix Lampard’s biggest Chelsea issue https://www.soccity.net/premier-league/chelsea/everything-need-lazio-strakosha-fix-chelsea-defence-kepa Chelsea’s defensive problems have been very clear in the Premier League this season. They come to the fore in just about every game for the club and let them down. Goalkeeping issues saw Frank Lampard drop Kepa against Leicester City, but an error from stand-in goalkeeper Willy Caballero saw them get held to a 2-2 draw. It has been a real problem area for Lampard- the defence. Many fans have been clear about they need a new goalkeeper about some months after they spent big on Kepa to sign him from Athletic Bilbao. If they do need another new man between the sticks, they should look no further than Lazio’s Thomas Strakosha. Strakosha presents a case of a player who has been under-the-radar in the Serie A for a while now. At 24, the Albanian has established himself as a regular for a big Italian club and is also silently one of the goalkeepers in the league. This season has seen the biancocelesti come close to challenging for the Scudetto, Ciro Immobile, Luis Alberto and Sergey Milinkovic-Savic have got loads of attention. But characters like Strakosha and defender Francesco Acerbi haven’t really got the credit they deserve. The Greece-born Albanian has made 28 appearances in all competitions so far, playing behind a side that plays in a direct counter-attacking style of football under Simone Inzaghi. The Eagles usually see Milinkovic-Savic as a midfield target-man. The Serbian takes part in transitions, often finding himself with an out ball in an advanced position. Because of that, Strakosha plays an average of 12.9 long-balls per game. In that regard, he has a 50 percent accuracy as he completed 6.5 of them. Strakosha is very good when it comes to short-passing. He has completed 15 short-passes per game this season, missing only 0.4 of them per game. This season, he has made three saves per game in Serie A, with 1.4 of them coming in the penalty area. Playing behind the second-best defence in the league does that, but Strakosha’s strong build makes him a very reliable man between the sticks. He is confident in punching the ball and a tall frame allows him to do that. His teammate and Belgian goalkeeper Silvio Proto has already talked of how he exudes confidence. Proto told LaLazioSiamoNoi: I’ve never seen a strong goalkeeper like him, behind a group with so much quality. The Albanian is young, big physically, explosive … He has everything you need to make a career at the top.” That is very much the sort of goalkeeper the 24-year-old is. He’s brave and a complete shot-stopper in many ways. Like Liverpool’s Alisson, he doesn’t need to make too many sensational saves. His positioning and smartness is good enough to make up for that. So far this season, Chelsea have underperformed on their XGA by a huge 6.27. When they should have ideally let in 27.73 goals, they have let in 34. Kepa’s inconsistencies have been a reason for that, bar the lack of a top-class central defender. snip

lol, his Kane is good because I still want to punch him in the face

lol so true but that is included in the £97m overall loss, as was the £40m spend on Kovacic

I did not put in Werner because, as is well known by all, I say he is not coming here, he is going to the dippers Grimaldo is £20m more than Telles, but I could live with him and Gosens as our LB's that said, IF you are going to spend Grimaldo money, we should buy Theo Hernandez, who is a better player than Grimaldo, and potentially the best remotely available LB out there, other than perhaps Alaba Kante is not played as a DMF anymore so Soumare or Rice at DMF is not replacing him, Thomas Partey is only £42m with his RC, so he is an option too Emiliano Buendía has ZERO goals, all comps and will cost triple or more than Boga will due to our buyback clause finally, it is simply not true that Serie A players cannot play well in the EPL which is what you said

Jadon Sancho has changed the landscape for England’s gifted youngsters – and Chelsea have taken note https://theathletic.com/1588438/2020/02/07/chelsea-youth-contracts-sancho-abraham/ The youth movement that has defined Frank Lampard’s first season at Chelsea is being enacted on two fronts. One is on the pitch, where the spectacular progress of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James has finally begun to reflect the stellar work done by head of youth development Neil Bath and his Cobham academy staff for more than a decade. The other is at the negotiating table, where Chelsea have also enjoyed more victories than defeats. Hudson-Odoi, Mount, Tomori, James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Billy Gilmour and Marc Guehi have all agreed new long-term contracts since the beginning of the season, while all parties involved expect talks over Abraham’s extension to reach a similar conclusion. Tino Anjorin and Ian Maatsen, two of the brightest talents in the development squad, are next on the list. Both have trained regularly with Lampard’s first-team squad since making their senior debuts as substitutes in the 7-1 win over Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup third round in September, but are currently set to become free agents in the summer of 2021. Discussions between Anjorin and Chelsea over a new deal that would run to June 2025 are progressing well, sources have told The Athletic, and there is optimism an agreement will be reached sooner rather than later. Hopes are also high that Maatsen, whose contract talks were interrupted by his Under-17 World Cup campaign with Holland, will commit his long-term future. But the January losses of right-back Tariq Lamptey to Brighton and Clinton Mola, a versatile player capable of operating as a defensive midfielder or in the middle or on the left of defence, to Stuttgart offered a painful reminder that until a new contract is actually signed, all options remain open. Sources told The Athletic that Lamptey, 19, agreed the framework of a new contract in the middle of last month, less than a fortnight after he made an impressive cameo on his senior debut in a Premier League match against Arsenal. “Hopefully he feels a bit of love,” Lampard said of Lamptey following that game, in reference to the contract situation. But the terms of the deal then changed and other options emerged, including firm interest from Brighton and French club Lille. Lamptey was not inclined to move abroad and ultimately decided to join Brighton because he simply couldn’t see a pathway to Chelsea’s starting XI with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and James, one of the brightest young talents of his generation, established in front of him in the right-back position. The 18-year-old Mola, meanwhile, did not feel he was even in the first-team reckoning. Rarely invited to train with Lampard’s seniors despite being an England Under-19 international, he watched as Hudson-Odoi, a former academy team-mate only five months older than him, became established while he remained with the development squad. Chelsea made an offer to extend the deal of Mola who, like Lamptey, was due to be out of contract this summer, but Stuttgart made the more compelling pitch of a new start in Germany. Led by new sporting director Sven Mislintat, formerly of Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, they assured Mola of immediate first-team opportunities and explained with impressive detail how he fits into their long-term plans. There can be no denying that money was also a factor in both cases and the financial terms on offer from Brighton for Lamptey and from Stuttgart for Mola were better than what Chelsea were prepared to pay. But those familiar with the Mola deal insist that if wages were the driving force he would have instead joined AC Milan rather than gone to Germany. Mola has been given early encouragement that his decision will be vindicated on the pitch. He did not need to wait long for his first senior minutes, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 cup defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. The average age of Stuttgart’s starting XI was just 24 years, six months and six days, while Mola was one of five teenagers on the bench. Part of the problem Chelsea encountered with both Lamptey and Mola relates to the question that has annoyed Lampard all season: would this youth movement be happening at Stamford Bridge if it weren’t for their transfer ban last summer? It is a question that is being asked not just by those outside Chelsea with a vested interest in downplaying the club’s youth development upturn but also by influential people around some of the youngsters still in the system. Some still believe that Chelsea’s “pivot to Cobham” was caused more by FIFA’s decision to punish the club for breaking rules regarding the transfer and registration of minors than any substantial shift in philosophy. The perception is that the likes of Mount, Abraham and Tomori have been the beneficiaries of a unique window of opportunity no longer open to those internal prospects who might come next. Lampard has repeatedly insisted he is making a conscious choice to trust in youth over some of the experienced internationals at his disposal. Chelsea might also point to their lack of transfer activity in January, despite getting their FIFA ban reduced on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as proof that they are no longer in the business of blocking the pathway for youth. But some in football and around the club’s academy structure wonder if Lampard would even have got the Chelsea job were it not for FIFA’s punishment. They highlight the fact that Chelsea spent £58 million on Christian Pulisic a year ago despite having Mount — an attacking midfielder of similar age, profile and arguably quality — already in their system. In short, these doubters need more convincing and will be watching Chelsea’s approach to transfers this summer, and beyond, closely. The other element to this is that there are no shortage of clubs, particularly in Germany, prepared to offer talented teenagers at leading Premier League academies an accelerated route to the top. Jadon Sancho changed everything. His dazzling transformation within the space of two-and-a-half years at Dortmund, from a frustrated talent in Manchester City’s youth academy to one of the most coveted teenagers in world football, has fundamentally changed the entire conversation around many of English football’s most gifted youngsters. The contract talks that take place towards the end of any top academy prospect’s first professional deal have never been harder. Sancho’s success has prompted clubs across the Bundesliga to systematically and aggressively target the best teenagers in elite Premier League academies, giving the players’ representatives greater leverage to secure better terms from their current employers or force their way to another club that offers more immediate first-team opportunities. A key element of Bayern Munich’s pitch to Hudson-Odoi was that he could become their Sancho. Chelsea ultimately won that tug of war, committing the 19-year-old to a lucrative new deal that runs until June 2024 in September, and some of the families of other Cobham prospects took heart from how hard the club fought to keep the dazzlingly talented winger. Bayern did, however, succeed in prying Jamal Musiala and Bright Arrey-Mbi out of Chelsea’s academy last year. Others will be tempted too. In developing Sancho and others, the Bundesliga has established itself as a trusted proving ground for elite talents of all nationalities, as well as the most reliable stepping stone on the path to some of Europe’s biggest clubs. In particular, there is a growing perception that excelling in the Bundesliga is the surest route to a position of prominence at one of the Premier League’s “Big Six”, because England’s top clubs value achievements there as a stronger predictor of future success than standout performances in the Championship or on another, lesser stage. This was the decisive factor for Mola, who is represented by the same agent who took Sancho, Reiss Nelson and Ademola Lookman to the Bundesliga. It would not be a surprise to see more English teenagers end up at Stuttgart now that Mislintat — widely regarded as one of the best identifiers and recruiters of young talent in world football — is running the show there. Chelsea can make a more compelling case than ever to Anjorin, Maatsen and the rest of their top academy talents with Lampard as first-team head coach, backed up by Jody Morris and Joe Edwards, and a growing cast of recent Cobham graduates in every match-day squad. That in itself can also be a problem, though — Chelsea have too many good young players emerging from their academy to possibly bring through themselves. Lamptey left in part because he couldn’t see a way past James, while the long-term presence of Tomori and Andreas Christensen in the first team, coupled with Guehi’s faster elevation and Lampard’s wide array of midfield options, factored into Mola’s decision not to stay. Many youngsters are also increasingly wary of taking the loan route — where one bad move can completely derail the momentum of their development — when the alternative is following the example of some of their teammates at England youth level and seeking out clubs prepared to take a more hands-on role in realising their potential. But compared to where Chelsea were only a few years ago, targeting mediocre domestic signings simply to satisfy the Premier League’s requirements for homegrown squad members, these are good problems to have. Whether by luck, design or the combination of the two, the road that separates the academy and first-team buildings at Cobham no longer feels like a threshold that cannot be crossed. As long as Lampard is able to maintain a balance between his youth movement and transfer spending this summer, Chelsea should continue to win more than they lose when it comes to keeping the very best talents from the most dominant and productive academy in England. If he does not though, recent evidence suggests there will be plenty of clubs ready to take advantage.

that was the whole point of waiting until now, he is almost 17, turns it in 9 days so is way past minimum age he should be on our books Independent but disciplined': Former Fiabema's coach opens up on Chelsea newcomer https://tribuna.com/en/chelsea/news/3544897/ Chelsea have signed Bryan Fiabema from Tromso. The Norwegian side's assistant manager Lars Petter Andressen wishes the 16-year-old all the best. As per the specialist, the attacker has made a big step forward lately. The player's desire to grow is insane. Chelsea have signed young and talented forward Bryan Solhaug Fiabema from Tromso. The Norwegian's side assistant manager Lars Petter Andressen has shared thoughts on the youngster. "Since joining the club, Bryan has shown a great desire to develop and has taken an especially big step lately," the coach told the club's official website. "He is an independent boy who has lived in a single room and only thought about training. His ability to be independent and disciplined at the same time has led him to develop as a football player. "We wish Bryan good luck in the future and will follow him closely in the years to come." Fiabema has joined the Blues on a three-and-a-half-year deal. The transfer is believed to have cost Chelsea less than £900,000. The 16-year-old has had a successful trial with the Blues and will join the club's youth side. Fiabema grew up in Krokelvdalen and played for a local club until he was 12 years old. The attacker then moved to Tromso and was part of the Norwegian side's Academy ever since. This season, Bryan has even made a senior appearance for the club.

14yo Chels schoolgirl MF wager she could take a better corner than Mount or Afro

wtf Fiabema still listed at Tromsø on Norway's official site, and not listed as Chels on the EPL official site Norway U17s https://www.fotball.no/landslag/norge-gutter-17/2020/g17-tropp-til-la-manga/ G17-landslagstrener Gunnar Halle har tatt ut troppen til årets La Manga-turnering: Håvard Hetle - Sogndal Henrik Kjeilen Steinseide - Brann Mikael Kvinge - Brann Sondre Auklend - Viking Bryan Fiabema - Tromsø Mathias Bauer - Augsburg Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik - Molde Henrik Sælebakke Falchener - Sandefjord Daniel Kubrom Hamde - Strømsgodset Tobias Fjeld Gulliksen - Strømsgodset Odin Thiago Holm - VIF Sharam Jabari - LSK Nicolai Skoglund - Sporting Lisboa Audun Engen Vik - RBK Oscar Bobb - Manchester City Christos Zafeiris - Grorud Leo Fuhr Hjelde - Celtic Jasper Silva Thorkildsen - Vigør Max Williamsen - Kristiansund Daniel Karlsbakk - Bryne https://www.premierleague.com/news/1603207 Chelsea 25 Squad players (*Home grown) Abraham, Tammy* Alonso Mendoza, Marcos Arrizabalaga Revuelta, Kepa Azpilicueta Tanco, Cesar Bakayoko, Tiemoue Barkley, Ross* Batshuayi, Michy Borges Da Silva, Willian Caballero Lazcano, Wilfredo Daniel Christensen, Andreas Bodtker* Giroud, Olivier Jorge Luiz, Frello Filho Kante, Ngolo Kovacic, Mateo Loftus Cheek, Ruben* Nunes Nascimento, Robert Kenedy Palmieri Dos Santos, Emerson Rodriguez Ledesma, Pedro Eliezer Rudiger, Antonio Tomori, Fikayo* Zappacosta, Davide Zouma, Kurt Happy U21 players (Contract and Scholars) Aina, Jordan Ampadu, Ethan Anjorin, Faustino Adebola Rasheed Askew, Jake Ballo, Thierno Mamadou Bate, Lewis Michael Baxter, Nathan Bergstrom, Lucas Carl Edvard Broja, Armando Brooking, Joshua Royston Brown, Charlie Chalobah, Trevoh Tom Clark, James Robert Cumming, James Andrew Ekwah Elimby, Pierre Emmanuel Elliott, Benjamin Njongoue Familia-Castillo, Juan Carlos <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< not Gallagher, Conor <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< listed here Gilmour, Billy Clifford Grant, Josh Guehi, Addji Keaninkin Marc-Israel Haigh, Joe Samuel Harris, Myles Spencer Hudson-Odoi, Callum James Humphreys, Bashir James, Reece Lavinier, Marcel Lawrence, Henry Lewis, Marcel Livramento, Valentino Francisco Maatsen, Ian Maddox, Jacob McClelland, Sam McCormick, Luke Philip McEachran, George James Mount, Mason Nartey, Richard Nicos Tettey Nunn, George Johannes Pulisic, Christian Mate Rankine, Dion Joseph Russell, Jonathan Samuels Colwill, Levi Lemar Simeu, Dynel Brown Kembo Simons, Xavier Levi Sterling, Dujon Henriques Tie, Nicolas Ugbo, Ike Uwakwe, Tariq Wady, Ethan James Wakely, Jack Wiggett, Charlie John Ziger, Karlo

Ajax goalie chooses Chelsea as he prepares for Premier League switch https://www.chelsea-news.co/2020/02/ajax-goalie-chooses-chelsea-prepares-premier-league-switch/ Andre Onana is starting to bubble up more and more often as a name connected with Chelsea now that the January window has closed. He’s the goalkeeper of a top European side, so he was never going to be moving in the winter window. But come the summer, it looks like he will be on the market, and the Daily Mail claim Chelsea is his preferred destination. Goalies have a unique value in the transfer market as each team can only play one regularly, and most of the top teams already have a stopper they’re at least content with. The Mail say that Barcelona and Tottenham have also expressed interest in the Ajax goalie – but they already have established players between the posts. If Kepa leaves Chelsea will have a gap, and even if he stays, Onana would fancy his chances getting into the team ahead of him. It could be a very interesting few months when it comes to keepers at Chelsea. snip

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Championship may need to break away from EFL to attract audience it deserves One way for the second tier to get the global attention it deserves would be to slim down in a repackaged league system https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/feb/06/championship-wider-audience-football-league Cedars Art Production has been making well-received Middle Eastern films and television dramas since the 1950s but it was not until three years ago that the Lebanese company realised its full potential. Everything changed when Al Hayba was showcased at Cannes. The TV series, set in a fictional, smuggling-funded mountain village near ancient Baalbek, blended action, romance, feudal politicking, emotional intelligence and bewitching scenery. Netflix executives spied an international hit and acquired streaming rights. Underpinned by themes sufficiently universal to resonate with globally diverse audiences, the Arabic soundtrack was given English, French, Spanish and Chinese subtitles. Soon Al Hayba’s lead actors, Taim Hasan and Nadine Njeim, were appearing in sitting rooms across North America, Europe and east Asia. For Cedars Art the stars had aligned. An ideal confluence of strong product and growing international appetite bridged the gulf between niche and mainstream. If only English football’s power brokers are brave enough, a similarly transformative “Al Hayba” moment could see a rebranded Championship establish itself on an infinitely bigger stage than its current, largely parochial platform. This seems a perfect time for the second tier’s anyone-can-beat-anyone human drama to be properly appreciated, at home and abroad. Admittedly narrowing the daunting chasm separating the Premier League and the old second division while widening the latter’s overseas appeal will take more than a trip to Cannes. Championship clubs need to divorce themselves from the English Football League, slim down and join a neatly trimmed top flight in a glossily repackaged, two-division Premier League, renamed PL One and PL Two. At present falling into the Championship feels like dropping off the edge of the world. PL Two would change that – albeit at a cost. Collateral damage could hit hard lower down an EFL ladder cut adrift and although pain invariably accompanies gain, the transition period would require careful management. Even so, the answers to necessarily hard questions could provide surprisingly sustainable long-term solutions. Does League Two really need to be fully professional? Might it and the National League benefit from merging before splitting into northern and southern divisions? Should neighbouring clubs share grounds and training facilities? Moreover, once the makeover was complete, PL Two’s new clout could reawaken the much-diminished enthusiasm of many television and newspaper executives for England’s lower leagues. Despite European crowd surveys showing that, in some recent seasons, only the Premier League and Bundesliga have attracted more fans to games than England’s second tier, the Championship has been under-reported by a national media in thrall to the top flight. Yet a frequently overlooked division is studded with skill and excitement. snip

Nicky Butt: ‘If a manager gets sacked we should be able to call our loan player back’ https://theathletic.com/1583299/2020/02/05/nicky-butt-manchester-united-manager-sacked-loan-players/ Nicky Butt has called for the rules around youth loans to be revised, arguing that the likes of Manchester United should be able to recall a player if the club they are on loan to sack their manager. Butt is head of first-team development at United and speaks with the same unflinching commitment to the cause that he displayed while playing in midfield for the club, which is why he feels there are areas for improvement in the modern game — such as allowing players to move at any point in the season. At present, loan players can only be signed during summer or winter windows, but Butt believes these parameters unnecessarily limit those under the age of 20 from gaining valuable first-team experience. The previous system, altered before the 2016-17 season, enabled clubs in the Football League and below to sign players on emergency loans in two periods outside of regular transfer windows on deals ranging between 28 and 93 days in duration. World governing body FIFA changed the rules to protect the “sporting integrity of competitions”. Butt feels that given the uncertainty over managerial tenures, parent clubs should gain greater control over players they have nurtured for a number of years and the regulations should allow for greater flexibility, particularly if the manager of the loan club leaves. It is a view Sir Alex Ferguson famously acted on when recalling three United players from a loan with Preston North End after the dismissal of his son Darren in December 2010. Ritchie de Laet, Joshua King, and Matty James went back to United — but those were exceptional circumstances and usually loaning clubs have no recourse in the event of a change of manager. At present a loan can be cancelled only if both clubs agree, though a player could not then join a new club until the next window. “It’s crazy, the window,” Butt tells The Athletic. “It used to be pretty much all year round until a few years ago, and as soon as those changes came in place it had an effect of stopping players going out. I would suggest that the rule-makers look at that. “We try and make that process as smooth as possible. There are times when you’ve got to rush them, because time runs out, they are the rules. “It is hard. I believe the rules should be if a manager gets sacked, you can call a player back, because the next manager could be someone who doesn’t like the player and he’s [the player] stuck there for a year. “You spend a fortune developing players up to 19 — from seven years of age, playing every week — and then you send them out on loan and all your control is gone. Because regardless of what people say, nobody can promise they will play every game. If they’re not playing well, they’re not going to play, it’s a fact. It’s not as easy as people think. It has to be really thought out.” James Garner was one United player looking at a loan last month, but ultimately the talented 18-year-old midfielder is staying at Carrington to continue his development around Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team squad. Butt continues, generally: “Loans come when you’ve exhausted the reserves, you’ve burnt it up for a season, and it’s become too easy for you. But you’re not quite in the first-team dynamic. ‘OK, go get some men’s football, see how you develop’, come back and you’re in the first team or you make a career elsewhere. “That’s something you can’t just go and do like that within a week, you have to plan it. That is part of my role, with Les Parry [United’s loans manager]: find the right club, with the right beliefs. “Is it a club that sacks three managers a season? Because that’s no good for any of our players. You don’t know what manager is going to come next. “Is it a club that will play young players, and will let them make a couple of mistakes and not just drop them straight away. “Do they play the right way of football? Do we need a player to go on loan to get them to learn more stuff that they don’t get here, in academy football? Heading the ball, real 50-50 challenges, physicality? Or is it a player who needs to go out and play in a technical league? It is something we look at all the time.” Butt is speaking before the FA Youth Cup tie against arch rivals Leeds United at 7pm on Wednesday, which is expected to draw thousands to Old Trafford. Leeds have been granted 1,800 tickets and it promises to be a new atmosphere for many of the young men on the pitch. Butt himself played against Leeds in the final of the 1993 FA Youth Cup, alongside Paul Scholes, David Beckham, and Gary and Phil Neville, in front of a 30,000 crowd. “They beat us and it was a disaster, we expected to win it twice in a row,” Butt says. “Without being big-headed we were a really good team and it was rare we lost. It was a tough one to take.” Leeds won that final 4-1 over two legs, a year after the Class of ’92 had become United’s first winners of the competition since a 1964 side including George Best. Wales midfielder turned TV pundit Robbie Savage played in those games against Leeds 27 years ago and his son Charlie has a chance to feature on Wednesday night. As does Harvey Neville, son of former United stalwart and now England Lionesses manager Phil. Charlie Wellens, son of Richie, the Swindon Town manager and a former United contemporary of Butt’s, is expected to appear. United have not won the FA Youth Cup since 2011 and while Butt maintains that developing players is the primary aim, lifting silverware cannot be overlooked as part of the process. “The first game we played in the FA Youth Cup was really bad, we just scraped through,” he says of his own playing days. “I remember Eric Harrison [the legendary academy manager] going mad at us, saying, ‘The expectation is for you to win this.’ “I think that’s healthy, having expectation on players sometimes, especially in modern football. There is a time when you’ve got to show you’re capable of winning under the spotlight. To develop players, we know we have to put them out of their comfort zone. The FA Youth Cup is the time to say, ‘Show me what you got.’” Butt will be watching from the stands on Wednesday and has a clear idea of what he would like to see from the youngsters in red. “You want players who are going to be brave on the ball, accept the ball under pressure. Do what they do in training every day, work hard, drive themselves when it’s going wrong. If they go 1-0 down, how do they react? Is it arms in the air, ‘Not my fault!’, or do they go and take the challenge on board?” Butt is warming to his theme and it is compelling to listen to. He slumps his shoulders to make a point. “I hate seeing players react like that when they get 1-0 down,” he says. “Real players try even harder when they’re 1-0 down. Don’t shirk under any of the nonsense in a game, the bookings, the reactions. “If they are winning, one, two goals, do they start showboating, being silly, not be respectful? Or do they keep driving, getting three goals, four goals, five goals? “Are they challenging the opposition to have a go at them? Are they challenging their own players? You get a lot of academy players who don’t really speak to each other. They need to be able to have a go at each other, then put it to bed at the end of the game. There are lots of things on my mind.”