I reckon we've got an option to buy in the same way that Conway and co had an option to buy oakwell 6 months after signing to 'buy' the club.
Aye I know Dudhope Street central but been a bit cut off with the inner by pass. I’m sure you would have been warmly received in the pubs. We are a friendly lot regardless what some might have you believe. Yeah once the pints flow the queen’s English goes out the window and regional accents take over. Everyone thinking wtf is he talking about?
So it seems like the option to buy is insurance for if he does very well and attracts premier league interest. Aka higher offer than that and we trigger the clause and then sell? That’s how I read it anyway.
To me this is a great show of intent. His wages won’t be cheap and we’ve all but secured survival already. Would be very easy to just regroup for next season at this point.
I suppose there's nothing to say we haven't negotiated a lower option fee as part of the deal. Speaking purely hypothetically we could have paid a loan fee with part of the deal being that we then get the option to buy for an agreed price (lower than 20m) in the summer.
Says on the official Orlando website they have a " conditional right of recall." I wonder if the 20 million dollar valuation is realistic, or is it just a figure to attempt to appease the fan base.? Certainly looks to be able to play from what I've seen on You Tube. Well done Dane and the Board for bringing him in, but more importantly not letting any of our better players leave during this window. https://weareorlandocityuk.com/2021...city-scs-daryl-dike-joining-barnsley-on-loan/
According to an interview I saw with their manager[?], the recall clause conditions are around things not working out, which I take to mean being if he's a bench warmer. Personally looking forward to seeing him play. If he is a success then even if we can't afford him at least it may answer the question as to whether or not we have been missing a big lad up front.
Still seems a little odd to have your star player go to another country and risk picking up an injury when you will presumably need him in 3 months time.
Dike may be using this as a shop window for Premiership exposure, and Orlando doing the same hoping for that 20 million move. I'm just happy to have a big, imposing, confident barn door who knows where the net is....even if it's only for the rest of the season and it demonstrates to the board that he's the type of player Val needs going forward.
It seems the reason for all this is that there's a reasonable chance the MLS season doesn't start due to disputes between players and owners (from what I can gather) So a few clubs are sending star players abroad to keep them happy and make sure they still get paid if the league goes into lockout. https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2021-01-29/mls-lockout-authorized-cba-deadline-extended
That would make a lot of sense, to be fair. Might end up working against them though, what with the difference in quality between the MLS and the Championship(as an example). I'm not American though, so don't know if a 20 y/o American lad would see a move to the Championship as more attractive than playing in the MLS?