It's not often we get told anything other than it's a "undisclosed fee". It always makes me think that it's all been done on the cheap and if we knew now how much we would be just a tad put out. Maybe it's just me seeing conspiracy LOL
Standard practice these days. It isn't just Barnsley that does this. Grape vine is suggesting somewhere around the £3m mark. If that's true, for me that's fantastic business.
I've never thought this personally. IMO it's more about keeping it from fans than other Clubs, who will typically have expectations about what should then be done with transfer £. Pretty confident other Clubs will know what numbers are involved, through insider info, CEO chat, agents etc. Unless there's NDA in place.
If Luton have completely robbed us and paid a minimal fee, why would they also announce it as undisclosed? Surely following your line of thinking they'd want to tell their fans the fantastic business they've just done?
I read last week their manager said it was a club record. Morris was their previous record buy. I'm thinking 3m but who knows
It probably is around £3 million but it will be in stages with a million up front and the rest in bits over next 18 months......I guess.
The fees are probably littered with various clauses (50 / 100 appearances, promotion / staying up, internationals etc...) that the true value wouldn't be known for a long while after the transfer anyway. Then we end up hearing two different unofficial fees, leaked by the buying and selling clubs.
what pisses me off is that they probably have a template that says Luton Town sign Barnsley......( add name here) In fact I'm beginning to wonder if their whole scouting set up isn't just a BFC season ticket!
I think we scout the same players but Luton haven't the money to gamble on players so they let Barnsley see if they sink or swim. Then buy the good ones.
It's in nobody's interest to say what the actual fee is, and it's common practice throughout the industry. 1) this is a commercially sensitive contract to buy/sell assets and there's no reason to publicise it. 2) buying club doesn't want to tell people how much they've spent because it signifies that they either (a) are spending money like it's going out of fashion and other teams will ask more money for their players or (b) other teams know they will be skint and lowball them for their players. 3) selling club doesn't want to tell people how much they received because (a) it tells other clubs they can afford more when they try to buy players (b) it tells players they can afford to pay them more (c) it tells the club's other players what the going rate is for their players so they can either apply pressure or force a move when they know other clubs are making similar bids for themselves. 4) fees are rarely straight forward. Add one, subtractions, tax, currency exchange rates, instalments all complicate the fee. 5) transfer fees are often 'factored' which is where a club sells a player for 1m paid over 5 yearly instalments. They sell that contract to a factoring company for £900k upfront and the factoring company takes the 5 instalments for 1m. Helps with cashflow but means the club rarely receives the full amount. In short, it's in nobody's interests
Tbf they've just landed a billionty quid for getting promoted. There really shouldn't be any reason for staged payments on a £3m transfer.
I think the reason the payment is staged is nothing to do with affordability but the contingent fee for add ons performance related. Say we get an initial £2.3m then there is a further £700k to be paid. £500k may be based on him making 50 appearances, £100k on Luton retaining their premier league status and £100k on him gaining an international cap. The numbers above are all made up but represent how fees are structured based on contingent events.
While ever we keep selling players of his quality for the rumoured 3m peanuts we'll always be a selling club unable to offer better wages and hold on to people. Its a viscous circle. At some point we have to grow a pair as a club and get what we should. Had Peterborough sold him we'd be looking at double the fee - this i have no doubt. But good luck Mads - my beef is with the club not you. Go smash the prem! You deserve a crack at it.
How can you complain about the club when we know sweet fa about the actual fee or add ons etc? Bit harsh.
