Summer 2021 transfer thread.

[Captain Turdseye]

If we’re penny pinching then looking towards France is the thing we should be doing. 
 

From The Athletic

 

“They have not got a lot of money in France, definitely,” says one experienced agent. “Any player that is a decent talent at any club other than Paris Saint-Germain has a value right now.”

A Premier League executive adds: “All our information is that some clubs are desperate to sell. Lille, even though they won league, are said to be skint.”

The chickens, it seems, are coming home to roost on the collapse of a four-year TV rights deal that would have been worth £670 million annually across Ligue 1. Mediapro, the company looking to make a Gallic splash by wrestling packages away from long-term broadcaster Canal+, made one payment of £130 million last August before defaulting on the rest when subscriber numbers dramatically undershot their expectations.

That left black holes on balance sheets across the country, and even though Amazon Prime emerged into the market last month to agree fresh terms, the deficit has only been partially closed. They paid just £215 million a year for the same number of Ligue 1 games as Mediapro had planned (eight per week) — a reduction on the previous deal of more than two-thirds.

The issue is compounded because Canal+ are taking legal action over the sale of those rights. A partner since 1984, they were not given chance by Ligue 1 to submit a fresh bid and are instead stuck paying inflated fees for their package (£283 million per year for two games each week), which was driven up by Mediapro’s original offer. As Canal+ press ahead with suing Ligue 1, the financial horizons appear even more uncertain.

French football has always seen player trading as a significant revenue stream but now, at certain top-flight teams, the pressure is becoming acute, and Premier League clubs are scanning to see if extra value can be gained from acting in this window.

A senior source at a Ligue 1 side says: “French clubs in general are very dependent on player sales to balance the budget. This was the case before the pandemic and before the TV rights’ crisis. Now the situation is more unbalanced.”

Houssem Aouar has been watched by several Premier League clubs (Photo: Getty Images)

The financial regulatory body for clubs in France’s top two divisions, the Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion (DNCG), is taking a hard stance on finances, sending a letter this summer to all teams stating categorically it wants books to be balanced during the summer. Those who do not comply face the prospect of an owner being forced to put a deposit down to guarantee their club can reach the end of the season. “If guarantees are not given, the club will not be allowed to start the league,” a source says. “There is, therefore, a hugely pressing need for most French clubs to sell players this summer.”

The DNCG took dramatic action last week by relegating Angers and Bordeaux, who have been in administration, over financial concerns. Both are appealing the verdict. There are also worries about St Etienne.

Other clubs are beginning to offload players to get out of the red. Boubakary Soumare has left Lille for Leicester City in a £17 million deal, while Southampton signed left-back Romain Perraud from Brest at a fee sources say was £11 million.

There are expected to be more moves across the Channel, with Jonathan Ikone prime among thoughts in England. The 23-year-old France forward helped take Lille to an unlikely title but the champions sit on an unsteady throne. They lost £170 million between 2017 and 2019, due to a large wage bill, massive stadium costs and modest commercial and match-day income. Sven Botman, the 21-year-old Dutch defender, is another at Lille on the lists of several sides in England.

Lyon, meanwhile, champions for seven straight seasons between 2001 to 2008 and Champions League semi-finalists in 2019-20, have told intermediaries they can only bring in free transfers and loans to supplement their squad. This is partly because they missed out on Champions League qualification by two points, with another factor being Moussa Dembele’s aborted transfer to Atletico Madrid. Dembele signed on loan for Atletico in January with the option of a £30 million purchase price but suffered injuries, so they declined to take up the option. Sources say the La Liga champions are trying to negotiate a lower fee but teams in England will be looking too.

Houssem Aouar, the 23-year-old midfielder, is another Lyon player under observation.

Premier League recruitment staff are studying Jeremy Doku, the 19-year-old Rennes winger. Doku is part of the Rennes strategy for committing decent funds to young talent with the aim of selling higher in future and his price (£23 million to Anderlecht last year) will have been swelled by impressive displays for Belgium at Euro 2020.

Rennes have another diamond in Eduardo Camavinga, the 18-year-old midfielder with three France caps. Camavinga has one year left on his contract and multiple sources expect Rennes to try to cash in this summer and avoid losing him on a free next year.

Camavinga could leave Rennes for free next summer (Photo: Franck Fife/AFP)

Manchester United have explored his signing, but sources say any move would be complicated as Camavinga has lots of options. A switch to Real Madrid or Barcelona is believed to appeal to the player, who could yet decide to sit out his final 12 months and join a new club when finances across Europe have recovered further from COVID-19. Bayern Munich are interested and it is said there is “no rush” about reaching a conclusion this window.

Privately, Rennes are dismissing the suggestion a deal could be done for €30 million, insisting to some they would only talk for €10 million more, and the examples of Soumare and Perraud show that French clubs can still get good value. Insiders regard the fees for those two players, aged 22 and 23 respectively, as fair.

Rennes will hope to spark a bidding war for Camavinga. PSG are said to be keen and thanks to the wealth of their Qatari owners, they are less affected by the drop in TV revenue. Many observers feel they could use their leverage to hoover up the best talent from across the country, but Camavinga’s path could be shaped by the future of fellow France midfielder Paul Pogba.

PSG are making inquiries about the United star’s availability and some within the industry believe they could be holding off on Camavinga for that reason. There are no indications yet, however, that Pogba is interested in a move to the Parc des Princes and United have held talks about extending his contract, which expires next year. Those discussions are expected to rumble on.

United’s interest in Camavinga is long-standing. They considered signing him two years ago but executives instead pushed the button on bringing in Hannibal Mejbri from Monaco for a €10 million fee.

Monaco, backed by Dmitry Rybolovlev’s billions, have insurance against the problems in France, as do Nice, who are owned by Ineos, the company of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s second-richest man.

Nice appointed Christophe Galtier as manager at the end of June, poaching from rivals Lille, and as one agent says: “They must have a good project, so will Ratcliffe invest like (Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich?”

Troyes, owned by City Football Group and just promoted, also seem secure.

For much of the rest, however, the direction of travel for prized assets will be outwards.

West Ham United are among the clubs in England to have scouted Reims striker Boulaye Dia, who scored 14 times in Ligue 1 last season. The 24-year-old has shown qualities that translate to English football but his slump in form — only two goals in his previous 19 league games — has been matched by a drop in interest. Reims might decide to sell now. One intermediary says: “Reims could look and say, ‘His price might depreciate if he starts badly next year’.”

Metz are described as having “some seriously good players”, with centre-back Boubakar Kouyate and midfielder Pape Sarr prime among them. Aston Villa have looked at Sarr, a highly rated 18-year-old midfielder.

The question is whether these clubs, in such straitened times, will cut prices to aid cash flow. One French expert believes that while there may be an extra imperative to boost finances, thus increasing the chances of transfers happening, executives will hold firm on the numbers. “There are people trying to exploit what’s going on in all areas of the league but at the moment, I don’t think we are seeing clubs having to bend and undersell assets,” the source said.

“The Amazon rights deal has helped. They have a bit of comfort. They are confident there is going to be a long-term relationship with Amazon and the situation is not as bad as they feared it might be. The issue will be what they themselves are able to reinvest, rather than having to flog the family silver.”

Indeed, Rennes signing Loic Bade from Lens this week shows there is some assurance over budgets. Bade, a 21-year-old centre-back, is regarded as good enough quality for the Premier League.

For English clubs gearing up to find value in France, there are perennial issues over establishing exactly who to talk to for a player. Some situations are described as a “wild west” where agents and family members emerge to claim integral positions, which are difficult to untangle.

Recruitment staff at one Premier League club were left bemused this summer when submitting an official bid for a Ligue 1 player, only to receive a call off an unknown number an hour later from a man insisting he had the mandate and all negotiations had to travel through him. The lines of communication went cold when the buying club asked to see proof, but still, there has been no response over the offer.

Leicester have shown, through Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and Wesley Fofana, that is worth pursuing certain deals, and Liverpool’s chief scout Barry Hunter is known to have expressed surprise that more clubs in the Championship do not tap into a market that suits the style of play in England’s second tier.

As far as the Premier League is concerned, agents expect a starting gun to sound should one of the mooted mega deals occur, namely Harry Kane or Jack Grealish to Manchester City.

“In the Premier League after the Euros, you will see a huge amount of money swirling about as a result of two or three internal deals,” says a recruitment source. “That will increase the opportunity for those clubs to spend, and likely mean more French-based players moving to England.”

[Ne Moe Imya]

Bit odd that we haven't been linked to more Ligue Un players, honestly. When the news of the TV deal collapse first came out I predicted a huge exodus - there have been some sales but not as many as I expected. Maybe no one has any money (except City, Chelsea, and PSG, of course)?

 

I will say one thing, if United actually do end up getting both Camavinga and Sancho this summer that would be really disappointing. I'm so used to their huge financial advantage not meaning anything because they just blow it all on overpriced aging has-beens, that it would be crushing to wake up and find out that they're now going to start spending their money on potential superstars.

 

Also, what is going on with Aouar? If you'd told me two months ago we were paying 40m for him to replace Gini I'd have said "sound." Now he's available for 20m and there are no takers? Can that really be true?

[Megadrive Man]

5 hours ago, Bruce Spanner said:

You are quite correct, mad.

 

Runs out in 2026 and his agent is pissed as he’s not getting a pay rise.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/football/2017/jul/01/saul-niguez-nine-year-contract-atletico-madrid

 

Did his agent not think about this before he signed a nine year contract!

 

[Megadrive Man]

1 hour ago, Ne Moe Imya said:

Bit odd that we haven't been linked to more Ligue Un players, honestly. When the news of the TV deal collapse first came out I predicted a huge exodus - there have been some sales but not as many as I expected. Maybe no one has any money (except City, Chelsea, and PSG, of course)?

 

Also, what is going on with Aouar? If you'd told me two months ago we were paying 40m for him to replace Gini I'd have said "sound." Now he's available for 20m and there are no takers? Can that really be true?

 

You've answered your own question. Across Europe, only PSG and Chelsea and weirdly Aston Villa appear to have money, Man City are pretending they are just as skint as every body else!

 

After decades of a boom in transfers, it's very difficult to actually put a price on players now. I think all clubs are looking at each other, waiting for each one to move to gauge the sort of prices in the covid era market.

 

 

[Josef Svejk]

4 hours ago, MegadriveMan said:

 

You've answered your own question. Across Europe, only PSG and Chelsea and weirdly Aston Villa appear to have money, Man City are pretending they are just as skint as every body else!

 

You've forgotten Man United... 

[Daisy]

44 minutes ago, Josef Svejk said:

You've forgotten Man United... 

And arsenal and leciester

[Scott_M]

7 hours ago, Ne Moe Imya said:

 

Also, what is going on with Aouar? If you'd told me two months ago we were paying 40m for him to replace Gini I'd have said "sound." Now he's available for 20m and there are no takers? Can that really be true?

If it’s not sorted, closer to the end of the window, the cheaper the players?

[Captain Turdseye]

3 hours ago, Josef Svejk said:

You've forgotten Man United... 

 

2 hours ago, Daisy said:

And arsenal and leciester

And the £35m we’ve already spent on a defender. 

[Leyton388]

Just get Origi off the books and replace him. That's all I'm bothered about. 

 

I'm sure we'll all thank him for what he's done but he needs to move on now. 

[Josef Svejk]

Well, I thought the £73m United spent on Sancho was more significant somehow. 

[Captain Turdseye]

6 minutes ago, Josef Svejk said:

Well, I thought the £73m United spent on Sancho was more significant somehow. 

Sure, but let’s not pretend we’ve done nothing at all. 
 

We needed a defender, a midfielder and an attacker. One down, two to go. 

[Josef Svejk]

4 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:

Sure, but let’s not pretend we’ve done nothing at all. 
 

We needed a defender, a midfielder and an attacker. One down, two to go. 

The original post was about clubs that look like they still have serious spending power. That's the usual suspects (Man United included) minus Real Madrid and Barcelona. Not us. And I'm not even criticising the club for this... 

[Captain Turdseye]

3 minutes ago, Josef Svejk said:

The original post was about clubs that look like they still have serious spending power. That's the usual suspects (Man United included) minus Real Madrid and Barcelona. Not us. And I'm not even criticising the club for this... 

 

Yeah, fair enough. I lumped your post in with Daisy’s. Sorry. 

[Anubis]

Having read everything available, I have come to the conclusion that, while he would undoubtably make an excellent addition to the team, we won’t be buying this Saul chap, will we? 

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

We should buy Luis Diaz from Porto. A Colombian. Been a stand out for the national team in the Copa America. A right footed left sided forward. He's not lightning quick but very, very skilful and has got that Sadio Mané open up your body and pass it into the corner finish already mastered, to a tee. 

[El Dangerous]

1 hour ago, Anubis said:

Having read everything available, I have come to the conclusion that, while he would undoubtably make an excellent addition to the team, we won’t be buying this Saul chap, will we? 

I don’t think so, probably Atletico shopping him around to get out of honouring his lucrative long contract. Probably rock up at City and join Pep’s stockpile.

[El Dangerous]

Just seen an interesting story headed on The Echo “Liverpool left chairman furious after beating Barce and Man Utd to £5m transfer” What’s that I hear you say? What exciting young prospect have we beaten our rivals to? Well it was none other than Harry Kewell 20 odd years ago!

 

Not to mention Luis Alberto no showing for a training camp could make FSG millions. 

[Barrington Womble]

That highly regarded source of information that is known as teamtalk saying Grujic fee ageed at £11m. Seems pretty reasonable considering all the loan fees we've taken over the years. Obviously the club thought he was worth more, but this seems a good compromise for all 3 parties. 

 

https://www.teamtalk.com/news/marko-grujic-liverpool-transfer-fee-compromise-porto-agreement

[dockers_strike]

39 minutes ago, El Dangerous said:

Just seen an interesting story headed on The Echo “Liverpool left chairman furious after beating Barce and Man Utd to £5m transfer” What’s that I hear you say? What exciting young prospect have we beaten our rivals to? Well it was none other than Harry Kewell 20 odd years ago!

 

Not to mention Luis Alberto no showing for a training camp could make FSG millions. 

Was made up when we signed Kewell. Leeds were wanting double for him, I think and he looked a good player.

[m0e]

13 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Was made up when we signed Kewell. Leeds were wanting double for him, I think and he looked a good player.

He was outstanding for them for 18 to 24 months before signing. One the best players in the league.

[Bjornebye]

Just now, m0e said:

He was outstanding for them for 18 to 24 months before signing. One the best players in the league.

Yep. Even Erik Bakke around then was a brilliant player. They had some side then. Dominic Matteo played his best footy around then as well, was gutted when we let him go because if I remember correctly he'd just hit some good form for us. 

[RoyHodgeGone]

Kewell had already started to pick up injuries from 2001 to 2003. I was certainly excited by his signing and at that fee it was definitely worth the risk.

[El Dangerous]

8 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

Yep. Even Erik Bakke around then was a brilliant player. They had some side then. Dominic Matteo played his best footy around then as well, was gutted when we let him go because if I remember correctly he'd just hit some good form for us. 

Michael Bridges was shit hot for a second too. Oliver Dacourt another one. All turned out for the best though, dirty bastards.

[Bjornebye]

3 minutes ago, El Dangerous said:

Michael Bridges was shit hot for a second too. Oliver Dacourt another one. All turned out for the best though, dirty bastards.

Yep and yes haha can't stand them. 

[Anubis]

Origi + Grujic = half a Saul.

 

Edit: Add Elliot and we may get to 2/3.