Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 28,855]

when we get Rice I want to see this old Mou treble winning (at Inter, including the CL) formation dusted off and shoved up some unsuspecting teams' arses

4–2–1–3 Formation

The somewhat unconventional 4–2–1–3 formation was developed by José Mourinho during his time at Internazionale including in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final. By using captain Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso in holding midfield positions, he was able to push more players to attack. Wesley Sneijder filled the attacking midfield role and the front three operated as three strikers, rather than having a striker and one player on each wing. Using this formation, Mourinho won The Treble with Inter in only his second season in charge of the club.

As the system becomes more developed and flexible, small groups can be identified to work together in more efficient ways by giving them more specific and different roles within the same lines, and numbers like 4–2–1–3, 4–1–2–3 and even 4–2–2–2 occur.

Many of the current systems have three different formations in each third, defending, middle, and attacking. The goal is to outnumber the other team in all parts of the field but to not completely wear out all the players on the team using it before the full ninety minutes are up. So the one single number is confusing as it may not actually look like a 4–2–1–3 when a team is defending or trying to gain possession. In a positive attack it may look exactly like a 4–2–1–3.

[killer1257 3,282]

How isn't it sustainable? Kante can't play every game and he is hitting 30. 

But Kante played every PL match so far and I think he got only got substituted once. I expect Kante to play 95% of the PL matches. Only if he hits injuries again, Rice might have a chance getting some minutes in a 4-3-3. Switching permanent to a 4-2-3-1 would obviously fix that issue. I am not a fan of that system, especially for us.

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk

[Vesper 28,855]

No U18 signings, partner clubs and fast-thinking: English football post-Brexit

https://theathletic.com/2234253/2020/12/02/brexit-transfer-premier-league/

The United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union will end in just over four weeks’ time and that momentous split ensures change is coming across all walks of life from January 1, 2021. Football is no exception.

The recruitment strategies and transfer policies of Premier League and EFL clubs will be altered after Brexit too, with new obstacles placed in the way of signing new players from overseas.

No under-18s can be signed from overseas in January and a new framework has been drawn up that limits the foreign players able to join an English club. Even managers and coaches from outside of the UK will be asked to meet new criteria.

The Athletic assesses what has changed and explains what that means for English football…

How different is football going to look in a post-Brexit UK?

New regulations for player transfers were approved by the Football Association, Premier League, and EFL last month and have now been signed off by the government.

The UK’s departure from the European Union means players from the continent can no longer move freely into the country, with new entry requirements in place to cover next month’s January transfer window.

That prevents clubs from signing anyone under the age of 18 from overseas, while any new recruit from Europe must qualify for a “Governing Body Endorsement” (GBE). That is a points-based system, with a player’s eligibility assessed by a range of factors, including international experience, as well as the league and the team he has been signed from. More on that later.

The impact of these changes promises to be far-reaching and lasting.

“The system that’s been devised will have a big impact because clubs will have to factor in whether the player will be able to come to the UK,” said Andrew Osborne, a specialist sports lawyer and the head of Lewis Silkin’s immigration practice. “That adds an extra level of consideration.

“The problem for clubs is that this is more complicated than previous systems and they’ve only got four weeks to get used to them. They will have to assess their targets to see if they’ll qualify.

“Probably the biggest impact is going to be that clubs won’t be able to sign players under 18 anymore. The concessions that applied around the transfer of players aged 16 to 18 within the EU, we won’t get once we leave. That will move the focus of a club’s recruitment.”

Did clubs know this ruling was coming?

Oh yes. Just look at the recruitment strategies in the Premier League over the summer. This was last orders at the bar before things got a whole lot more complicated.

Take Chelsea, winners of the FA Youth Cup six times in the last nine years, as an example. They signed Aleksi Heino (16) from FC Turku in September, goalkeeper Sami Tlemcani (16) from Paris FC in October and midfielder Edwin Andersson (17) from IFK Gothenburg last month. They also snared 17-year-old Bryan Fiabema from Tromso in February and 16-year-old Jimi Tauriainen from Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi in the summer.

And they were not alone. Manchester United’s academy recruitment this summer had a heavy emphasis on overseas signings, with six players from abroad under the age of 18 joining the club. Sources say that while scouts had been tracking the targets for a considerable length of time, and a paucity of local first-year scholars meant there were spaces to fill, the incoming regulations around Brexit were a factor in the scale of influx.

Three Spaniards arrived at United, with full-backs Alvaro Fernandez and Marc Jurado coming from Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, and Alejandro Garnacho, a winger, leaving Atletico Madrid.

Radek Vitek, a 17-year-old goalkeeper, joined from Czech Republic side Olomouc. Isak Hansen-Aaroen, a 16-year-old forward, signed from Tromso as part of United’s strategic agreement with the Norwegian club. Willy Kambwala, a 16-year-old centre-back and captain of France’s under-17s, arrived from Sochaux in a deal that could reach €4 million.

Fernandez, 17, has made a notable impact already, starting five Premier League 2 games for Neil Wood’s under-23 side.

United also signed two 18-year-olds in Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo, for a combined total potentially worth up to £47 million. Both players have been extensively tracked but United pressed the button on bids before any rule changes could count against them — much to the surprise of some of their rivals, who could not afford such a significant outlay at the time.

Aston Villa were another club to be busy this summer. They have signed a glut of 16-year-olds: Lamare Bogarde from Feyenoord, Vitesse Arnhem defender Sil Swinkels and Aaron O’Reilly, another defender, from St Patrick’s. Villa were said to be very aggressive in their pursuit of players in that age group, beating Arsenal and Tottenham to Bogarde.

    Bogarde playing for Feyenoord Under-17s in February (Photo: Erwin Spek/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Villa purposely watched a lot of players around the age of 16 and continued to scout heavily earlier this year, knowing the summer represented a last chance to sign players of that age before the Brexit rules came in.

What does it mean for future recruitment?

The inability to sign players under 18 will undeniably change the dynamics of youth recruitment.

It has become common practice for Premier League clubs to add under-18s to their academy ranks, nurturing the most promising youngsters at close-hand, but those days are now at an end.

Clubs, though, have already eyed up a way around these restrictions. A link-up with an overseas club would allow any highly-rated youngster to be parked there until turning 18, when he would then be free to move to England.

Manchester City’s owners have shares in Spanish club Girona, along with eight others around the globe as part of the City Football Group. The owners of Leicester City, too, have full control of Belgian side OH Leuven. Brighton owner Tony Bloom bought Belgian side USG in 2018, while Sheffield United have ties with Beerschot, current leaders of the Jupiler League. Those arrangements have allowed clubs to farm out youngsters to gain experience but there is no reason why that link cannot be used to ringfence any youngster eyed up on the continent.

Expect other Premier League clubs to forge ties with their European counterparts. Sources now expect Manchester United, for instance, to press ahead with a search for a European partner club. An agreement could allow players of interest under 18 to stay with such a sister side until of age to transfer.

Why will clubs not be able to buy under-18s any more?

This is a FIFA rule, set out in their regulations for the transfer of players between countries. Brexit ends the previous freedom of movement between the UK and EU and ensures the days of English clubs landing under-18 players from the continent are over.

Cesc Fabregas, who joined Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2003, would have been denied that move from Barcelona, as would Hector Bellerin. Manchester City’s move Eric Garcia, another to leave Barcelona aged 16 in 2017, would also have been put on hold had the new rules been in place.

English and Scottish clubs have also traditionally raided Ireland for their best young footballers at the age of 16 but that practice is also at an end. In theory, at least, not until their 18th birthday can any Irish youngsters make their move to England from next year. That would have meant Caoimhin Kelleher, Liverpool’s Champions League hero on Tuesday night, would initially have been made to wait before he headed to Anfield as a teenager.

The new rules also stipulate that Premier League clubs will only be allowed to sign six under-21 players per season from 2021-22, with only three permitted in the upcoming January window. Clubs in the EFL will not face those limits.

Who are the winners and losers?

The FA, Premier League and EFL all declared themselves satisfied with the changes. “The Premier League has worked with the FA to come to an agreement to ensure no part of Brexit should damage the success of the Premier League, or the prospects of the England teams,” said Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive.

There is a commitment from all parties to review the process ahead of the 2021 summer window but there has been some concession to reach this middle ground.

The FA were keen to increase the number of England-qualified or homegrown players in a Premier League club’s 25-man squad from eight to 12 only to meet with resistance from the top flight. There was no mention of that in the statement released but it is understood the FA has backed down on its desire to put a hard cap on the number of foreign players by holding the line on the quality of those signed. This has been considered to be a satisfactory compromise that does not overly inhibit Premier League clubs’ recruitment, while also ensuring the best English players do not have their pathway blocked at a young age.

How is the points-based system going to work?

For the large majority of signings from Europe, there will not be any obstacles. Any international player who regularly represents a nation ranked in the top 50 of the FIFA rankings will be given an automatic pass, while any new recruit from a Band 1 league (Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1) will also be very close to qualifying.

Ultimately, it needs 15 points for a player and the signing club to be granted a GBE. That can come from six different categories, including the players’ international status, the league they have been signed from, minutes played in continental competitions and the success of their last club. The more they have played at a higher level, the greater the points awarded.

Players facing the greatest difficulties could be those signed from Scandinavia. A new recruit from Denmark’s Superliga would be granted four points initially and then another four points if they have played more than 90 per cent of minutes for their club. As many as six points could be available if the title had been won with the selling club but further points would still be needed from international or continental experience.

Players aged 21 or under face slightly different criteria, with the onus again focused on the calibre and pedigree of the signing.

Should a new recruit only be able to tot up between 10 and 14 points in the January window, they would need to have their case heard by an “Exceptions Panel” made up of three independent figures. A GBE will be granted if it can be shown “exceptional circumstances prevented the player from achieving 15 points, and if those exceptional circumstances did not apply, the player would have achieved 15 points”. A youth player, aged 18-21, would need to show “significant potential and is of sufficient quality to justify” a GBE.

There are similarities to existing rules for the recruitment of non-EU players but with important differences.

“The new system is focused on playing criteria, with a range of options for clubs to show a player is playing at a high level,” added Osborne. “The traditional method was through international appearances. That’s more difficult when you’re dealing with a larger group of potential players.

“The other area where you can score points now is if you’re playing for a good club in a good league and you’re being successful. It’s based more around your playing history and the quality of games you’re involved in.”

Will this also change how clubs land managers?

It will indeed. Players are not the only ones to be impacted, with head coaches and their staff also required to meet certain criteria set out by the game’s governing bodies.

Any manager appointed from overseas will need a GBE, which will only be granted if the individual holds a UEFA professional licence and has managed in a “Top League” for either three years or two years consecutively.  That encompasses 33 different leagues, from Italy’s Serie A to the Slovenian PrvaLiga.

That will not be an obstacle for most managers but the new rules would have blocked Huddersfield’s appointment of David Wagner in 2015. The German had only ever coached Borussia Dortmund II before moving to England and steering Huddersfield to the Premier League. Daniel Farke, the current Norwich boss, would also have been denied his opportunity when appointed in 2017.

First-time managers from Europe and high-profile names will also find opportunities limited. Former Spain midfielder Xavi, currently coaching in Qatar with Al-Sadd, would not meet the criteria.

Clubs are able to appeal to an independent panel at a cost of £5,000. They would have to show their appointment would “contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in England” and be a manager of the “highest calibre”.

Premier League and EFL clubs are able to provide the sponsorship required for an overseas coach to work in the UK but National League clubs will no longer be permitted to freely appoint a European coach.

There is a different criteria for assistant managers and other members of a backroom coaching team, such as a first-team coach or goalkeeping coach, who must be deemed suitable by frameworks outlined for a “performance manager”. Those rules are less stringent but would still need to be met.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

GCSE History Paper A June 2045

1. David Cameron - Grade A, class 1, certified twat. Discuss.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

Multiple post

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

Multiple post.

[Tomo 21,733]

6 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

GCSE History Paper A June 2045

1. David Cameron - Grade A, class 1, certified twat. Discuss.

The most criminal thing about the whole Brexit farce is the referendum passed through without the need for a big majority.

52% is simply not a big enough majority for such a life changing decision!

[Magic Lamps 11,655]

21 hours ago, Tomo said:

The most criminal thing about the whole Brexit farce is the referendum passed through without the need for a big majority.

52% is simply not a big enough majority for such a life changing decision!

And it was started completely needlessly in the first place.

however Brexit could still turn out to be a smart move in the Long haul even if it is almost suicidal in the short term. With populism and dictatorship returning to EU countries, their stupid constitution may well cripple the EU as evident by what Poland and Hungary are now doing. 

[Vesper 28,855]

here are the players we would have been unable to sign under the new rules

AC (too young)

Zouma (probably not enough points, he might have went to the exception committee, not sure if that would have worked, Think we would have had a strong case even if he did not have enough points)

Charly Musonda (too young)

Kenedy (not enough points)

Ian Maatsen (too young)

Xavier Mbuyamba (not enough points)

Matt Miazga (not enough points)

Lucas Piazon (too young)

Mario Pasalic (not enough points)

Pierre Ekwah Elimby (too young)

Marc Guehi (perhaps would have never come to England, as his parents may have not been allowed in under the new immigration points system for regular folk (he was born in the Ivory Coast), and if so, then he was far too young to sign)

Marco van Ginkel (not enough points) (btw I just found out he is exactly 1 day older than I am, lolol)

Danilo Pantić (not enough points)

Karlo Žiger (too young)

Thierno Ballo (too young)

Bryan Fiabema (too young)

Lucas Bergström (too young)

Sami Tlemcani   (too young)

Aleksi Heino (too young)

Jimi Tauriainen  (too young)

Edwin Andersson (too young)

Ashley Akpan (too young)

[Vesper 28,855]

Of the top 100 under 18yo players (non Chels, two are ex Chels, the 2 at Bayern now) on the planet ranked by value

we could have signed FIVE under the new rules, all the other 95 are not eligible

let that sink in

you will never again (at least for the foreseeable future) see a great young foreign player on an EPL club who was trained and raised up by that club (other than the ones currently in the system as I assume they are grandfathered, if they are not grandfathered in, we are fucked even harder)

those born in 2002 will be the youngest ones eventually left, 2003 and on are SOL

[Blues Forever 1,232]

Twomey: "When Haaland does decide to leave every Elite club in Europe will be lining up to make their pitch and I’m sure Chelsea will think about it because they are up there trying to compete for the best trophies going."

 

[R2D2 368]

1 hour ago, Blues Forever said:

Twomey: "When Haaland does decide to leave every Elite club in Europe will be lining up to make their pitch and I’m sure Chelsea will think about it because they are up there trying to compete for the best trophies going."

 

Is this guy reliable? Think Haaland or Sancho really is the last missing puzzle in our attack, would be incredible to pull off either of them.

[King Kante 1,484]

14 hours ago, R2D2 said:

Is this guy reliable? Think Haaland or Sancho really is the last missing puzzle in our attack, would be incredible to pull off either of them.

I am not so sure we need Sancho at this moment in time as I am still hopeful Puli will sort his injuries out and CHO will step up, while I see Werner as a LWF/SS. For me, he will only be needed if Werner goes to CF and/or the other two don't step up. 

As for Håland he surely has to be someone we're targeting. At the moment, our CF's are Giroud and Tammy. Giroud for me is great as a squad player going forward and I would actually like him to sign for another year. As for Tammy I do think he has a long term future at the club but as a CF2 and not a CF1. Imo, CF is actually the position after CB and DMF I think we need to sort out most in the next 18 months. 

[Vesper 28,855]

Saturday December 5 2020 Matt Law's Chelsea briefing

Success of expensive left-back will help convince club to support Lampard in future transfer windows By Matt Law, Football News Correspondent Ben Chilwell could be key to Frank Lampard’s hopes of landing his long-term midfield target Declan Rice. Rice remains at the top of Lampard’s Chelsea wish-list, although a January move looks unlikely given West Ham United’s strong start to the season. Chelsea did not end up making a bid for Rice in the summer transfer window after West Ham put an £80 million price tag on the England midfielder’s head. That price is unlikely to drop and there remains significant caution within Chelsea over spending such a large fee on a player the club let go as a 14-year-old. There was similar reticence from some quarters over paying £50million for a left-back in Ben Chilwell but Lampard rejected all the potential alternatives. Lampard believed that Chilwell would offer Chelsea value for money by giving them a long-term solution to a problem that had re-emerged almost every season and that looks to be a wise move. Given that he personally pushed so hard for the signing of Chilwell for such a high price, the success or failure of the 23-year-old was always going to be an important factor for Lampard moving forwards. So it is particularly significant that Chilwell has started his Chelsea career so encouragingly and appears to have finally solved the club’s problem over trying to properly replace Ashley Cole. Should Chilwell continue his excellent form, then Lampard will be in a much stronger position to urge the Chelsea board to spend big on Rice. Lampard was prepared to sign Thomas Partey as a cheaper alternative to Rice, but he eventually joined Arsenal. And it now seems likely that Lampard, as he did with Chilwell, will push against any suggestions to go for a cheaper option to Rice and try to convince Chelsea that he too can make a big impact at Stamford Bridge. N’Golo Kante has rediscovered his best form, but the France international will celebrate his 30th birthday next year and there must be some concern that his incredible stamina cannot last forever. Jorginho is also in his late 20s and it still seems likely the Italy international will at some stage return to Serie A, particularly if former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri returns to work. Chelsea do not have a natural defensive midfielder coming through their ranks who would be ready to step straight into the first team, meaning Lampard will push hard again for Rice and hope Chilwell’s good form convinces the board to trust his judgement once again.

[Vesper 28,855]

Bayern Munich contract rebel’s agent hoping to strike January agreement with Chelsea

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2020/12/02/david-alabas-agent-hoping-to-strike-chelsea-agreement/

The latest edition of Fabrizio Romano’s ‘Here We Go Podcast‘ featured Bild reporter Christian Falk – and there’s some interesting nuggets of information for Chelsea fans.

Christian Falk tends to be one of the most reputable journalists in the game when it comes to all things Bayern Munich. You get the feeling that Bild, being the number one news outlet in the German game, get briefed directly by the Bavarian giants.

That’s why his comments on Fabrizio Romano’s ‘Here We Go Podcast’ will provide plenty of excitement for Chelsea fans. He’s fuelled speculation linking Bayern Munich contract rebel David Alaba with a move to Stamford Bridge.

Speaking on the ‘Here We Go Podcast’, Falk claimed that Alaba’s agent, Pini Zahavi, is looking forward to holding discussions with the Blues when January comes around, with his intention to strike an agreement with them to sign Alaba from Bayern.

[Vesper 28,855]

I disagree with some of this (especially for us, as I showed above) but I am posting it for information's sake

Fabregas is a red herring. Brexit transfer rules won’t damage the Premier League

https://theathletic.com/2239555/2020/12/04/brexit-fabregas-transfer-rules/

 

Nicklas Bendtner still recalls the sudden sense of shock and unease. He was halfway up an escalator at Copenhagen Airport with a one-way ticket to London in his hand when he turned around to wave goodbye to his parents and saw they were both in tears. At 16 years old, he wasn’t prepared for that.

He had spent the previous days, weeks and months counting down to this moment, when he would be free to chase his dream — to go to London, to join Arsenal, to conquer the Premier League. And now, however fleetingly, he felt what he called “a shade of sadness of some kind, that a good chapter in my life was ending”. And he knew that, even if he was certain this was the right thing to do, his parents were having doubts. “Is sending their boy away really the right thing to do?”

In the summer of 2004, Bendtner was sure it was. He was heading for the big time at Arsenal. On top of that, he was going to get rich. He might not earn much at first — £290 a month in the first year, £390 a month in the second — but then there was the promise of a £100,000 lump sum when he turned 18, at which point the club would also offer him his first professional contract. Even he did not imagine that this deal, when it came just after his 18th birthday, would see him take home £35,000 a month after tax.

You are probably familiar with Bendtner’s story . He went on to score 47 goals at Arsenal and 30 for Denmark, but his career soon fell into decline and, now 33, unsure whether he has retired or not, he accepts he is known as a victim of English football’s “too much too soon” culture — the celebrity lifestyle, the riotous nights out in the West End, an infamous night when he was briefly £400,000 down in a casino — rather than as an inspiration for the many other youngsters who have left their homeland and their families at 16, seeking fame and pretty much guaranteed to earn a fortune when they sign for a Premier League club.

There is a reason why, when the Premier League, EFL, FA and Home Office finally came to an agreement this week over new entry requirements for overseas players in this post-Brexit world, Bendtner’s former team-mate Cesc Fabregas was referenced in every media report. Fabregas made his Arsenal debut barely a month after arriving from Barcelona at 16. At 17 he was a regular starter. By 21 he was captain and firmly established as one of the league’s outstanding players. By the time he returned to Barcelona at 24, feeling he was destined to go full-circle, few in Catalonia doubted the highly unpopular decision he had made eight years earlier.

Fabregas is an outlier, though. Among the dozens upon dozens of boys who have been lured from overseas to sign for Premier League clubs before their 18th birthday, the number of success stories is disconcertingly small. “Of the many players who have left Holland at an early age, I would say only Tim Krul, Nathan Ake and Patrick van Aanholt,” Art Langeler, the Dutch FA’s director of football development, tells The Athletic. “And it took a lot of time for them to work really well in England. Most of the time, the boys who go over to England aren’t getting any real chances. I always think it’s better to develop in Holland, make 100 appearances in the Dutch league and then move to a bigger league after that.”

Like Virgil van Dijk, then. Or his Liverpool team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum. Or the foursome of Matthijs de Ligt, Frankie de Jong, Donny van de Beek and Hakim Ziyech, who helped Ajax reach the Champions League semi-final last year and have now moved on to Juventus, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. Or Stefan de Vrij, now at Internazionale, or even Memphis Depay, who struggled after joining Manchester United at 21 (still too early in the view of many in Holland) but has thrived at Lyon.

So many highly-rated youngsters have left Dutch academies to chase the dream in the Premier League over the past couple of decades. From Ajax to Manchester United alone, there has been Gyliano van Velzen, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Millen Baars and Tahith Chong. Fosu-Mensah, 22, made an early breakthrough under Louis van Gaal but has long since drifted to the fringes of the squad; Chong (below), 21, made a handful of appearances early in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure but fell from the picture last season and is now on loan at Werder Bremen. Van Velzen, 26, was released after three years at Old Trafford and, after spending last season at Crawley Town and Aldershot, is now back in the Dutch second tier with Telstar. Baars, 20, was released after two years and is now in AZ Alkmaar’s second team.

Of the 14 Dutch players who have appeared in the Premier League this season, Ake and Van Aanholt did so via the Premier League academy route — joining Chelsea at 16 and ultimately progressing to Manchester City (via Bournemouth) and Crystal Palace respectively. So did Ki-Jana Hoever, who went from Ajax to Liverpool at 16 before being sold on to Wolverhampton Wanderers at 18. Hoever is widely regarded as one of the most promising youngsters in European football, but that was already the case at 16, which is why Liverpool fought so hard to sign him in the first place. It is too early to say whether leaving Ajax so early was the right decision for his long-term progression.

“Moving to England at 16 is a good opportunity to get experience of living and playing in another country and to earn lot of money,” Langeler says. “It works as a kind of life insurance because you’re made for life, even if you break your leg. But if you ask me as a youth developer, I would say it is a bit of a strange step to go there at such a young age. Not a lot of players who go to England at 16 succeed.”

They have been making this argument in Holland for years — often far less diplomatically than Langeler here. In 2011, when a 16-year-old Karim Rekik left Feyenoord for Manchester City, Eric Gudde, the Dutch club’s general manager, called the transfer “stupid for all involved”, saying, “In most cases these moves do not work out, especially for the boy himself. When they are just 16, it all seems great, but if you look at the statistics the majority end in huge disappointment for the player. It’s hard and it’s not just about being a good player. They’re so young and the stats are clear — most of these kids are developed badly. Then they came back (to Holland) and they have actually lost progress. The fact that Holland develops (young players) better than England should be a reason for the English clubs to leave them here.”

Rekik is actually one of those rare success stories, as is Jeffrey Bruma, who also left Feyenoord at 16, in his case for Chelsea. Both made only a handful of appearances before being sold on, but they have had solid careers in top European leagues — Bruma is now at Wolfsburg, Rekik at Sevilla. Angeler cites both of them as rare exceptions to the rule, along with Ake and Van Aanholt.

These successes are far outweighed by failures, though. And these are players who were tipped for even greater things than they have achieved. All four of them had higher reputations at youth level than Van Dijk, for example, as indeed did Fosu-Mensah. Van Dijk did not play for his country until under-19 level, by which time he was playing first-team football for Groningen.

The point Langeler makes is that all players have different pathways, but also that those pathways are far less clear in the Premier League than they are elsewhere. “You can’t predict at 15/16 that they’re going to be a star,” he says. “At 17/18 Frenkie de Jong was still struggling at Willem II. Then he made big steps at Ajax and is now at Barcelona. If you stay in the Dutch league, then the club is so focused on your development. I think that’s the way to do it, though I can fully understand why some players and their families want to move to England at the first chance.”

It is not just a Dutch grievance. If anything, youngsters from Holland have found it easier than most to adapt to life in England. For every Fabregas, there are dozens more highly-rated Spanish youngsters who have moved to England at the age of 16, only to stagnate in those late-teenage years that were so crucial to their development.

Barcelona lost Fabregas and Gerard Pique in the same summer of 2004 due to loopholes in their contracts. They ended up re-signing both — Fabregas at 24 having thrived at Arsenal, Pique at 21 having concluded that heading home was the best move both professionally and on a personal level — and they have tried to do likewise with Bellerin. They have even tried to re-sign Eric Garcia, 19, barely three years after he left them for Manchester City, even though, like Pique at Manchester United, he has found it hard to establish himself at first-team level.

If nothing else, this should tell us that Barcelona, so committed to preserving a Catalan soul to their team, forgive — and don’t forget — those who are lured elsewhere at a young age. Rather than anger, there is sadness when La Masia graduates go elsewhere and struggle. Fran Merida has had a good career in La Liga but Jon Toral (below) and Julio Pleguezuelo are now at Birmingham City and FC Twente respectively, which, while more than respectable, were not the hoped-for destinations for when they were at Barcelona or when they left for Arsenal, where the promise of first-team football did not materialise.

Then there is Dani Pacheco, who joined Liverpool from Barcelona amid great fanfare in 2009. He went on to star at the European Under-19 Championship finals a year later but barely got a look-in at Anfield and is now without a club at the age of 29. Gai Assulin left Barcelona for Manchester City but didn’t come close to the first team and is now, at 29, playing in Romania for Politehnica Iasi. There is more optimism over Sergi Canos, 23, who, having made a solitary appearance for Liverpool, has re-emerged impressively at Brentford.

Twenty-two Spanish players have appeared in the Premier League this season. But only three (Bellerin, Garcia and the Brighton reserve goalkeeper Robert Sanchez) have done so via the “Fabregas route” among the dozens upon dozens of Spanish youngsters who have left for English clubs before their 18th birthday.

Twenty-six French players have appeared in the Premier League this season. The only one to do so via that route (let’s call it the “Anelka route” this time) is Paul Pogba, who left Le Havre for Manchester United at 16, moved on to Juventus at 19, having barely kicked a ball at Old Trafford, and then returned in a world-record transfer four years later. Some might say those first three years in Manchester made him the player he is (or the player he was in 2016) but, again, it probably underestimates the potential that brought him to the club’s attention in the first place.

Yes, there are exceptions — and one that never gets mentioned is Gylfi Sigurdsson, who left his Icelandic club Breidablik at 16 to join Reading before moving on to Hoffenheim, Tottenham, Swansea and Everton. But 17 years after Arsenal signed Fabregas from Barcelona, 23 years after they signed Nicolas Anelka from Paris Saint-Germain, there is hardly an abundance of evidence to suggest that joining a Premier League club at 16 is good for your career. It is good for your bank balance, certainly, as Langeler points out, and most certainly for your agent’s, but the overseas players who survive and thrive in the Premier League are very rarely those who come over at a young age.

Kevin De Bruyne left Genk for Chelsea at 20 and quickly concluded that it was not the right environment for him. He was single-minded enough to force his way out to Wolfsburg, where he flourished before returning to England, with Manchester City at the age of 24. We will never know how his career would have mapped out had he joined Chelsea at 16, but it is fair to imagine it would have involved a lot of loans and a lot of frustration.

In the post-Brexit world, as of January 1, it will no longer be possible for English clubs to sign overseas players under the age of 18. This is widely regarded as a bad thing. But a bad thing for whom? For the Premier League? In the eyes of many, yes, but these clubs, while excellent at identifying and recruiting young talent, have — with the exception of Arsenal in the mid-to-late 2000s — not exactly excelled when it has come to helping that potential to flourish, which is probably why we, even now, we find ourselves talking about the impact on “the likes of Fabregas”.

Langeler, playing devil’s advocate, cites Ake, Van Aanholt, Bruma and Rekik as others who have built good careers even having not made the grade at the big Premier League clubs they joined as teenagers, but he remains convinced it is the wrong career path for a young Dutch footballer. And while, like most of Holland, he finds it hard to fathom why the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, he is not exactly shedding tears about the consequences for football. “And maybe Brexit can be a good thing for the English players too if there aren’t so many kids coming into their academies,” he says.

Well, that’s a different question and one that will take years for any of us to be able to answer with any confidence. Some feel that homegrown talent has been stifled due to the influx of overseas players at all age groups but particularly at academy level. Others feel that the arrival of top-class talent from France, Germany, Holland and Spain has dramatically raised the quality and the intensity of the Premier League “finishing school”. It seems likely that both of these things are true. It is just a shame that so few homegrown players, while local or imported, make it to first-team level at most Premier League clubs.

Let’s take Brexit out of the conversation for a moment. Let’s imagine that, rather than the result of a vote that continues to divide the country more than four years on, the new restrictions on signing young players from overseas had been introduced for different reasons: to protect young players and to allow them to develop in their own environment, at their local club, rather than being enticed by the financial incentives offered to them via agents looking to make a fast buck.

This is precisely what Michel Platini pushed for during his time as UEFA president. He wanted international transfers banned for those under the age of 18 — “not to create an obstacle to the free movement of labour”, he said, but as “an urgent matter relating to helping youngsters in danger.” He referred to “a phenomenon whereby children aged 12 or 13 are torn away from their environment and culture to join a business in return for payment”. Even pre-Brexit, British clubs were not allowed to sign players until the age of 16, but Platini felt the age limit should be 18, by which time players and indeed clubs might be able to make such judgments with a clearer perspective.

There was a time when just about everything Platini said or did was interpreted as an attack on the Premier League. There was considerable schadenfreude among some clubs when he lost the UEFA presidency in disgrace and was banned from football. A wonderful footballer in his pomp, he had some terrible ideas as an administrator. But as a principle, was a restriction on the international transfer of young players such a bad one?

Whatever else he might be, Platini was an idealist. He pined for a world in which the best players were still spread among many clubs, across many leagues, rather than being lured to one of the biggest English, French, German, Italian or Spanish clubs before they were out of their teens. As a Frenchman who had the best years of his career at Juventus, he was far from opposed to testing yourself in other countries. He just objected to the ethical aspect and also felt, from a football perspective, that it would be a desirable if, for example, an outstanding player from Amsterdam had two or three years in the Ajax first team, maybe more, before being sold on for a multi-million-pound sum — rather than leaving for a Premier League club at 16, for a small compensation payment, with all of the riches and all of the uncertainty that such a career path might involve.

Again, is that such a bad principle? Or do we imagine, despite years of evidence to the contrary, that a big Premier League club is a better place for a 16-year-old to develop than Ajax, Lyon, Schalke,  Stuttgart or even Barcelona? Yes these new post-Brexit laws will stop Premier League clubs picking up the best prospects in Europe for a pittance, but some of them have stockpiled players so indiscriminately over the years, hedging their bets in the hope that one or two might make the first team (and the rest can be sold for profit) that the practice has long felt unedifying. For far too long, certain Premier League clubs have traded teenagers as assets rather than regarding them as players and human beings to develop and plan a future with.

And now we have come to the end of that — not because of a UEFA president who was commonly accused of being anti-English but because of a political movement that was anti-European. It has conjured up certain alarmist suggestions of what the post-Brexit football landscape might look like: a Premier League that will be more Kevin Drinkell than Kevin De Bruyne, more Terry Hurlock than Thierry Henry, much shaking of heads and gnashing of teeth as we sit, socially distanced, eating our chlorinated chicken pies.

In reality, the difference to the quality of the Premier League is likely to be almost imperceptible. There are many reasons some people dread the possible consequences of Brexit but the impact on football is not among them. It is not one of those industries that cannot operate without overseas workers doing the jobs that the domestic workforce cannot or will not do. It is an industry where the biggest budget attracts the best talent. The biggest budgets are in the Premier League and so too, for the foreseeable future, will be a great proportion of the best talent.

English football, though, is an industry which at times has imported talent — particularly young talent — indiscriminately in the worst sense of the word. A more regulated approach should bring just a little more balance to the European transfer market and to the game in a wider sense, allowing players to develop in their own countries for a year or two rather than rushing to leave for clubs where in many cases the only reward is financial.

Bendtner can recall every contract he signed. He is less sure whether he can remember every car he bought. He wouldn’t change his experiences for the world but he cannot say with any certainty that joining Arsenal at 16 was the best move for his long-term development. It probably wasn’t. But at least he got an opportunity at Arsenal. At least he scored goals in the Premier League. At least he is well-known in England — and not only for the wrong reasons. For so many, moving to England at 16 has marked the beginning of the end of their top-class football career. Those sunlit uplands they were told about just never materialised.

 

 

 

[ulvhedin 507]

Wonder if Ziyech injury will be serious (2-3 months) whether we will be looking to bring some winger as depth? Anyone watching Sarr in Watford, how is he looking this season?

[Vesper 28,855]

my newest, most up to date sell/let go list (only way I see selling AC and Rudiger is if we are go all out for José Giménez  or Marquinhos this coming summer, and I think we get a full, WC 2021-22 season out of Thiago, so not vexed if we keep them, or keep one and then make the big move in 2022 summer window) Alaba is lurking out there too, and he prefers CB, although he is perfect to allow us to dump the two dregs LB's we have, PLUS we have Malang Sarr as well, and I think he has great upside)

in bold are the most important to dump

total intake from the bolded should be around £180-200m or so
    
Kepa   
Willy Caballero
Marcos Alonso   
Emerson   
Abdul Rahman Baba  
Jorginho  
Danny Drinkwater 
Charly Musonda Jr.
Jamal Blackman    
Michy Batshuayi    
Ross Barkley    
Davide Zappacosta  
Tiemoué Bakayoko  
Victor Moses    
Kenedy   
Matt Miazga    
Nathan  
Lewis Baker  
Danilo Pantic 
Marco van Ginkel    
Izzy Brown 
Lucas Piazon