Holgate to Villa...

To be quite honest I'd be more upset if we were letting James Bree go, think he's the better player/prospect of the two.
Just my opinion like.

 

£1m and a sell on fee for twenty appearances in league one is pretty good going. We don't know what his personal circumstances are, his parents might he telling him to do x, and, z his agent, friends, maybe he just see's a big club and wants a big move. It's crazy but that's football.

Maybe he'll make it, maybe he won't, but before last season he was worth diddly squat - so it's all good value if he's not keen on staying.

 

Agreed. Get rid and move on to 3/4 other targets
ie: Osullivan n Williams maybe with some extra spending power

 

O'Sullivan was the one player I really wanted back.

But he played for Blackburn, got rave reviews, and seems to be breaking into their first team. Good luck to the lad. Shame we've missed the boat with him though.

 

Williams we could easily get back, Fulham are bringing a ton of players so it's just putting him down the pecking order.

 

I'd snap their hands off for £1 million and a 20% sell on clause.

He's nowhere near the same class as Stones. You could tell Stones was already too good for the championship. I don't think Holgate was playing above league 1 standard last season. He got torn to pieces at Colchester. He's also very slight for a central defender. Stones had all the attributes, tall, strong, quick, intelligent and good on the ball. Holgate is lacking in a few areas.

I don't understand why he wouldn't sign a new contract. This is the perfect place to develop, we have a proven record of developing talent. Does he want a 3 year deal at Villa on decent money but risk being a forgotten man by the time he's 21? The alternative is first team football in a team challenging for promotion on a deal better than he's currently on. He'd then be able to make the move in a couple of years time when he's a much better player with a hope on holding down a place in a premier league side.

Not to mention it would be rewarding the club that has invested so much in him and given him the chance of playing first team football. He knows we won't hold him back so why not sign a 5 year deal in return for guaranteed first team football with the knowledge he's likely to get his big money move in a couple of years time.

I think he's being very short termist.

 

He fails at Villa and he'll still have earned ridiculous money and will still get a good move to a Championship club.

I don't see why he'd want to stay at a mid table L1 club. He'd not even be guaranteed a start here, when you consider the options we have. I see Bree as the better full back and do you reckon he gets in at centre half before Nyatanga and Mawson? I don't.

Lots of money, a Prem contract/club, it's not even a decision.

Can't see that that racist tweet will have tempted him to stay either.

 

I first saw John Stones when he was 16 and within 10 mins it was obvious he was special. Everyone was banging on about RNL, Rose and Clark at the time but to to me Stones was head and shoulders above everyone else. I see a lot of Academy and U21 games and I never saw the same ability in Holgate. Indeed his performances (albeit in L1) did surprise me but he is only 'potentially' a Prem player, whereas it was blindingly obvious with Stones. So I think a £1m deal with appropriate appearance/sell on clauses would be extremely good business for a player who may or not 'make' it. This loyalty debate is spurious. At the end of the day the only loyalty comes from the fans - everyone else is a paid employee who will always do what is best for themselves and their families and who can blame them for that? Anyone who thinks players should be as loyal as fans is being naive.