Planet Swans ArchivesJenkins uses the Evening Post tonight to call the Portsmouth offer for Duffy ”nowhere near what we value Richard at and we feel it’s an attempt by Portsmouth to try to unsettle him.” As predicted by many on here the figure offered by the Premiership outfit was nowhere near the £500k banded about by the player’s agent. Indeed, again as predicted, the initial offer was for a measly £100k with, as Jenkins describes “a never-ending run of further payments based on first-team appearances which came nowhere near £500,000″ Pompey chief Peter Storrie had claimed that his side had made a bid of £150,000 rising to £500,000 dependent on appearances.
Jenkins also confirmed that the club had dismissed the offer and expressed his disappointment that the only contact between the two clubs had been a fax from Fratton Park ”You would think that in this day and age, anyone wishing to make a serious offer would pick up the phone and speak to me, then confirm it in writing. ‘All Portsmouth have done is send us a fax without speaking to any member of staff, which is a very underhand way of doing things.”
Portsmouth though have not given up hope of landing their man and claim that they are not surprised to find that Swansea have dismissed their offer as Storrie says ”We’ve done the honourable thing and made a formal bid for the player, but Swansea will not sell him to us in the January transfer window, ‘We weren’t that surprised by Swansea’s response, but he is out of contract at the end of the season so we can go back then when the fee would be decided by tribunal. ‘He’s one for the future. Whatever division you’re in, you’re always on the lookout for young ones. All the reports we’ve had about him have been very good.”
Whether they will make an improved offer for the defender remains to be seen – much will depend on whether they are prepared to wait for Duffy to become a free agent in the summer and let a tribunal set the fee. Jenkins though has not given up hope of persuading Duffy to commit his immediate future to Swansea ”Naturally it’s in Richard’s hands, It falls back to him and his family because as yet he has not signed the new deal we have offered him. We are prepared to try to make him as happy as possible to persuade him to stay with us.”
As one who always said that I would sell Duffy if the offer were £500,000 as we were led to believe by the players agent, I have to totally agree with the club to dismiss this offer out of hand. £100,000 is a pittance fee and it is very possible that the various clauses that Portsmouth were insisting could mean that no further payment is made. Whether any tribunal would set the fee at higher than that remains to be seen but there is every chance that the initial payment could well be far in excess of £100,000. The ball returns to the court of Duffy and his agent to sign the contract placed in front of them by the Swans? A guideline may be a 16 year old Wimbledon youngster, Lee Martin, who today signed for Premiership champions Man Utd for an initial fee of £200,000 rising to £1m dependent on appearances
Jenkins is proving that he is a Swans fan with his reactions to some events that don’t go his way and is a refreshing change from the chairman of the past, many of whom would have snapped Portsmouth’s hand off and paid off a few bills with the income. Thankfully those days have past. Time will tell on what will happen regards the player but full credit to Huw Jenkins for speaking his mind.
