Planet Swans ArchivesJust when I thought the £27m that was paid by Manchester United for Luke Shaw was mad along came the potential transfer of Adam Lallana to Liverpool for just a fraction short of that amount (£25m) Both very good players but is that really the price of a player of their ability these days?
The answer as we know is no it is not. And the reason why we know it is not is simply because the moment the player has ‘English’ written on their Panini sticker as their nationality then the price doubles. And then it doubles again. And I have to say that I am not really sure why.
Southampton may be laughing all the way to the bank (it is a massive season ahead of them given the changes since the season ended) but there is no way in my head that I can see how Shaw or Lallana are worth that kind of money.
Then you have to factor in that on the day Shaw completed his move to Old Trafford there was newspaper speculation that Spurs were about to make a move for our very own Ben Davies. The rumoured fee for Ben? £6m.
Now let’s compare and contrast first. Ben is 21, so two years older than Shaw. Ben has 65 Premier League starts to Shaw’s 57. Ben has 3 goals to Shaw’s 0. Ben has 10 caps for Wales, Luke has 3 for England. There isn’t really much between the two players in terms of stats.
I do think Luke is the better player of the two but would you really say that the difference in fees would be £21m? Possibly more ironic that it is a rumoured bid by Spurs managed by former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino who of course was in charge of Shaw last term and helped develop him into the £27m player he has become.
Without a doubt in my mind there is not £21m in difference between the two players and if Spurs did come knocking with that kind of bid then I would hope that the Chairman laughs for a long time before sending them packing because quite frankly it would be an insult given the inflated market that Southampton now seem to have managed to get two of the country’s biggest sides to operate in.
Add several million to that before you even consider a bid Mr Pochettino.
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