Planet Swans ArchivesYou would assume but you would assume wrong. The source of the story is Duffy’s agent. The people that inflate footballers wages while taking a generous cut of any deal for their own pocket. Giving you an example – the agent (non licensed) who took a £2m cut of the deal that took Harry Kewell to Liverpool in the summer. The people that get rich off other people’s talents.
Richard Duffy is 18. He has made 10 starts for the Swans in the league and a total of 15 first team games. And Pompey want to pay £300,000 for him? Let them if they want to but I suspect that £300k will be the total value of the deal with a small installment up front and then so much dependent on future appearances and the like. That is, if indeed, they are even considering that kind of bid.
Brian Flynn says that he is aware of their interest – guess that came from the agent as well considering that he also says that there has been no contact from Portsmouth.
I’ll make my feelings clear now. If Portsmouth table a cash purchase deal now of £300,000 then we should take it. We should also add in a figure for future appearances and a sell on clause of between 10 and 20%. I remember hearing bids from the past for some of our players – Richie Appleby and Jason Price spring to mind – all six figure numbers quoted. The fans said “Keep them, they’ll be worth more” and we lost them for nothing as they lost whatever they had at the time. After 15 appearances we can see Duffy can be a good un but at 18 many people look like that. And at £20,000 per appearance it seems good money. I’ll add the proviso in there that the cash should go back into the team – we can probably take that much as read.
But however, I think it’s all hypothetical. Duffy’s agent, Wayne Elsey, told the Evening Post “Harry Radknapp has been in touch with me. Nottingham Forest and Southampton have been in for Richard in the past” – when he was a schoolboy?
Is it any co-incidence that Richard is at present in talks with the Swans over extending his current contract? It would seem not. The general way of working is to make the most of any half interest in a player to secure the best deal from the club he is presently playing for. I suspect that this is no difference.
The Evening Post writes that Redknapp being at Northampton to watch Trundle was a Red Herring – this I don’t think is any different.
Make the bid Portsmouth, the agent has told you the figure.
(Footnote: 15 games and he has an agent? Someone with more experience should be telling him he doesn’t need one. There are more experienced players at the club who have no agent.)
