Cam the Ram Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Cheltenham-Town-turn-bid-Derby-County-16-year-old/story-28240984-detail/story.html Cheltenham Town have turned down a £30,000 bid from Championship club Derby County for 16-year-old Luke Thomas. Robins chairman Paul Baker confirmed the Rams had made an approach and said it did not match the Vanarama National League club's valuation of the winger, who has been attracting the interest of a host of Premier League and Championship clubs this season. "There has been a bid, but at this stage we have turned it down because it does meet our valuation of the player," Baker said. Forest of Dean based Thomas has been with Cheltenham since Under-nines level and has scored 17 goals for Jamie Victory's Under-18s side. He has already been invited to train with Premier League Southampton, but Robins boss Gary Johnson said he would rather keep him in the senior squad, with whom he has been working all season. Thomas has been on the bench four times for Cheltenham's first team this season. He spent time on trial with Benfica in the summer after impressing the Portuguese giants on a pre-season tour to Lisbon with the Robins' academy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam the Ram Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 A number of Prem clubs have shown an interest and he was on trial at Benfica in the summer so he must be some talent. We certainly are trying to improve our academy by the looks of things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRam Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Very interesting. Will probably give them an improved offer at some point I imagine. Be good to sign some promising English talent to the academy, as much as I like the fact we're finding youth talent out elsewhere in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Ridiculously low bid from the Rams if all other points are true. Get him quick and offer one of our younger players on loan.Why have a £10 million Academy and offer £30,000 for a starlet? Not exactly taking a great risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam the Ram Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 1 week ago the Express ran an article that says Southampton made a 50k bid but Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs are all also interested - http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/620195/Southampton-Luke-Thomas-Arsenal-Spurs-Manchester-United-Sadio-Mane-Transfer-News-Gossip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kernow Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 NLP... Non-League Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealhantsram Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I thought the EPP allowed Cat 1 teams to 'poach' youngsters for a pre-determined fee? What's all this bid rejected stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sage Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 8 minutes ago, therealhantsram said: I thought the EPP allowed Cat 1 teams to 'poach' youngsters for a pre-determined fee? What's all this bid rejected stuff? I think that's pre 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Clubs can sign youngsters, aged 14, up to pre-scholarship agreements, circumventing the EPPP arrangements. Read more about the rules here - http://www.fsf.org.uk/latest-news/view/the-eppp-and-why-youth-development-matters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philmycock Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 So we bid 2 weeks Bent wages and wonder why it's rejected! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 44 minutes ago, philmycock said: So we bid 2 weeks Bent wages and wonder why it's rejected! So how much would you pay then, seeing as it's not your money? £50k? £100k? A million? And what about the other 50 promising kids Derby might be looking at? The same for them too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philmycock Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 13 minutes ago, eddie said: So how much would you pay then, seeing as it's not your money? £50k? £100k? A million? And what about the other 50 promising kids Derby might be looking at? The same for them too? If we're looking at him and think he's got potential, (otherwise why would we be interested?), then I think £30k is a paltry amount to offer. Of course it's not my money, I'm not a multi-millionaire that's worth £480m that owns a football club. What would be the going rate for one of OUR highly-rated youngsters? You'd be happy with Chelsea offering us £30k? Or you just being argumentative for arguments sake? For a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maydrakin Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 At 16, he could develop into a star, but he could also disappear into mediocrity. Take the England u17s from 2010, who won the tournament - remember Bruno Pilatos? At 20, he was in non-league obscurity, yet at 17 was probably seen as having a bright future. We're talking about a kid who has made 4 appearances as sub for a non-league side. I'd suggest quite a few of our academy players of a similar age could be somewhere around that level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 If Cheltenham said that it did not meet their evaluation, then ask them how much it is, negotiate down as far as possible and then decide if he is worth it. Get his dad a free trip to the Academy and a slap up lunch then sign the player for the fee that suits us or let him go somewhere else and watch that space nervously. We are paying people to spot players, trust them and if they prove to be not much good then get better people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 random name of youngster gets thrown about. then a few premier league names get thrown abarrrrt just after. then everyone goes all champ manager like they have any earthly f'kin idea how much this particular race horse will cost. having not seen or heard of him ever before. i'm going 125k, and he's the next Malcolm Christie ITK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irobinson Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 stick 250k in and bag him quick before someone else does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRam Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 With young players, from non-league teams I'm not sure the figure really matters all that much. What they want are stacks of add-ons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwash_Ram Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 His brother John is a bit of a nob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Why would it be worthwhile for Cheltenham to take £30,000 for their best youth product? He may as well play for them, surely. Derby County Academy should aim to gain a reputation for paying fair compensation for young players, treating them extremely well and keeping excellent relationships with smaller clubs. That way, Clubs will have no problem sending them to us on trial because they feel that their players will then have an excellent future. Money is not everything. Soiuthampton keep attracting excellent young players. It is not a coincidence. Also we should offer these clubs some players for cheap loans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamikaze Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I would always say it makes sense to buy these potential wonder kids for under 100k. The rewards outweigh the minimal risk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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