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Will Hughes turns down contract offer?


Cam the Ram

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Premier League clubs are on alert after Will Hughes rejected a new contract offer from Derby.

Championship County have soared back up the table after four wins in six games since Steve McClaren returned as boss last month.

Former England manager McClaren wants to build his side around talented homegrown central midfielder Hughes, who is valued at around £15million by the club.

The 21-year-old product of the Rams' academy is under contract to 2018, after penning a four-year extension during in McClaren’s first stint in charge.

Club officials held recent talks about improved terms that would give Hughes a pay-rise and secure his long-term future.

But MirrorSport understands he was unimpressed with an offer which is for less than Derby's top earners such as Bradley Johnson, who earns almost £30,000-a-week, get.

He is prepared to be patient and either wait for a better offer from the Rams or get closer to the end of his contract, which will see his price drop.

But Derby remain keen to tie down a player who has made 164 starts for them, and are likely to respond with a new offer next year.

Owner Mel Morris is a big believer in youth development and will be loathe to lose Hughes, but the Rams are also reluctant to smash their pay-scale to keep the starlet.

Liverpool have previously been strongly tipped with a move for Hughes, who has 17 England Under-21 caps. However, sources at the club insist there have been no firm bids for him yet.

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He should be either a top earner here or playing in an established EPL team (not saying both options are on an even playing field!). Either is fine with me. Would love to see him stay, but would also love to see him in an England shirt one day and got a feeling that won't happen while he's playing for Derby. 

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The idiocy of our recruitment policy rears its ugly head again. Not only did we buy Bradders on a "last minute of the transfer window" whim, we also decided to pay him a fortune to piss the rest of the squad off. If I were Will, I'd be more than "unimpressed" at being offered less than a distinctly inferior squad colleague too.

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19 minutes ago, HantsRam said:

It's quite common to hear managers fretting about the impact of  potential signings on pay scales.

Surely this was thought through at the time of bradleys signing????

It wasn't. Mel saw/heard that he was availible and signed him no matter the cost. Didn't even really consult Clement before hand. Didn't put much thought into how he would fit in the team either.

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20 minutes ago, Carl Sagan said:

The idiocy of our recruitment policy rears its ugly head again. Not only did we buy Bradders on a "last minute of the transfer window" whim, we also decided to pay him a fortune to piss the rest of the squad off. If I were Will, I'd be more than "unimpressed" at being offered less than a distinctly inferior squad colleague too.

If I was Will, I would be wondering why Johnsons getting paid £30,000 a week and why the club wouldn't be willing to do the same for me. The only thing keeping him here is the fact that he knows in order to perform in the premier league he either has to go up with us or get a move to a top 10 team.

I'm sure there were quite a few people on the forum at the time who saw exactly where the Johnson transfer would land us and here it is.

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But Brad is a tough tackling leader who knows about being promoted which makes any potential downside null and void?

Oh wait....

But in all seriousness, I do quite like and rate Johnson but his transfer to us was badly thought out panic. Hughes' value to us contractually, as a footballer and as a signpost of what we want to be as a club is far higher than Johnson.

 

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6 minutes ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

But Brad is a tough tackling leader who knows about being promoted which makes any potential downside null and void?

Oh wait....

But in all seriousness, I do quite like and rate Johnson but his transfer to us was badly thought out panic. Hughes' value to us contractually, as a footballer and as a signpost of what we want to be as a club is far higher than Johnson.

 

It was also a sign to other clubs that we weren't afraid to splash the cash, giving us the premium we now have to pay whenever we go after someone, because they know we have the money to spend.

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It's no surprise Bradley Johnson earns more than Hughes. Hughes hasn't achieved what Johnson has in his career, nor has he even come close to it, although he is somewhat younger. 

I'm all for giving Hughes a new contract, but I'd personally like to see bonuses play the major part. Top Premier League clubs aren't lining up around the block for his signature anymore - he's an attacking midfielder that has struggled to put the outlay of his efforts in the newspaper the next day. He's a wonderful player to watch, but he doesn't score or create anywhere near enough. He doesn't even warrant a starting position in the England U21 side anymore. 

I'd also suggest that selling Hendrick for £10m proves that Hughes is worth a lot more than £15m in the eyes of the current ownership, therefore I'm not worried. 

Hughes is one of those players that will eventually move on, but I doubt it will be for a Liverpool or a Chelsea. I think Crystal Palace and Leicester seem a more reasonable shout. I don't know if that will be at the end of the season or in two/three years. I'm confident that when it happens, it will be in our best interest. 

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Typical Derby. Spend a fortune on players who don't play, put mediocre and over the hill players on top wages and try to penny pinch your one and only current and future superstar (zanzala and Lowe notwithstanding). Honestly he should be the highest paid player in the league not just at Derby. I want him to stay but he'd be a fool to avoid going to the premier league. Plus he's never had quality around him so with PL players by his side and in front of him the sky's the limit with his talent and love for the game.

get a grip Derby and don't insult him with anything except a top contract offer. He's the primary reason I enjoy taking my seat on the weekend. Damn magical player.

:angry:

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19 minutes ago, WoollyJumper said:

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people are to except that something that gets reported, is exactly what is going on. I think it would be most prudent to take a breath, and let these things resolve themselves,before throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

No it wouldn't WJ. Most important issue at the club right now is making sure he's got a great contract and we secure his services and he's happy and focused. I don't recall we've ever had a player this good and with this much upside. 

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3 minutes ago, Ninos said:

No it wouldn't WJ. Most important issue at the club right now is making sure he's got a great contract and we secure his services and he's happy and focused. I don't recall we've ever had a player this good and with this much upside. 

I'm not for one minute suggesting that his contract negotiations are unimportant. We have no idea what stage/level these negotiations are at, and to assume that a media outlet does, and that what they then report is gospel is not giving our club and its management the proper respect that they will endeavor to make the best decision for our club. It's a bit like a game of cricket. You can't make a proper judgement on the state of a game until both teams have a had a bat.

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