Not so much scouting for boys, as the old Cub Scout movement joke goes, but scouting for players, which can be tricky and lengthy. How does it all come together?
So, you are a club and have identified that a particular player is the one your club needs. Each club has a network of scouts covering the UK and some useful observers across the continent. In the good old days, a scout would watch a lad and then go and meet the parents and persuade them to let him join your club and that was a decision purely based on what the scout had seen. At the top level, it’s a bit more 21st Century.
Many clubs now use computer programmes, such as Scout 7, to gather detailed statistical analyses of players. Videos are uploaded within minutes of a game finishing, enabling a manager, head of recruitment or director of football to run the rule over a player from the comfort of his or her office. The club’s representative will be building relationships with players’ agents and looking for as much information from various sources as is possible.
Does the club buy or go for a loan move? If you are buying then a formal offer is sent to the club or more usually now, via the player’s agent. Agents can work for both a player and a club, in as much as they can help a club to buy a player and help a club to sell on a player. Influential super agents can have such power that deals happen or collapse on their say so.
Premier League rules state that “a player under contract shall not directly or indirectly make any approach to another club without having obtained the prior written consent of the existing club to who he is contracted.”
You may find reality is entirely a different ball game, excuse the pun. Quite obviously clubs do contact players agents to enquire whether a move might be plausible and this starts off the chain of events that we all love right up to and including the transfer deadline day.
Players agents meet with club representatives and it is interesting to note that the majority of any deal is often set up before a fee has been agreed between the buying and selling clubs.
Negotiation meetings are often brief, with an agent laying out a player’s demands, and an official (usually the chief executive, the head of recruitment or the director of football) giving the club’s side of things.
Issues which arise during negotiations often relate to, of course, salary, bonuses and signing-on fees, as well as personal and social considerations.
Players often leave the negotiations to their agents, and are kept abreast of the situation by phone. They usually meet with a manager before a deal goes through to discuss how he would fit in at his potential new club. Players don’t these days discuss figures, that’s for the other parties to agree upon.
Considerations for a player prior to a transfer include how much playing time they would get if they moved clubs, whether they would need to re-locate (or learn a new language), whether they would be happy to work for the buying club’s manager and, particularly as you go down the leagues, the length of contract. Players, like anyone, want security.
And, of course, there is also the financial aspect. Wages play a big part in any job decision, and in football the sums are vast, and still on the up. It’s a short career, and making the wrong decision can cost you.
Agents are an important part of the game and good ones are valued, by both players and clubs. As stated, agents can be used by clubs to identify players, or to find clubs for players they are looking to sell. Their network of connections is often a valuable tool for managers, from the highest level down.
They also, theoretically at least, should ensure players are able to focus on their football, without having to concern themselves with contract negotiations and discussions. A good agent should be as much a mentor and a confidante as a negotiator. They earn, mind.
The final hurdles in a deal are the medical and, for some players, the work permit. Medicals at top-level clubs are stringent, carried out at the training ground or local private hospital. Work-permits, meanwhile, are needed for any player over the age of 16 who does not own an EU passport. What happens is this, the buying club has to agree to sponsor the player to be in the UK. A certificate of sponsorship is then produced by the club, which is submitted to the FA. The FA will grant the work permit if the player has played 75% of competitive games for a FIFA-ranked top 70 nation over the past two years.
Failure to meet this requirement will see an application rejected, unless it can be proven a player was unavailable for selection due to injury. A club may appeal if their first application is rejected, with a panel convened to establish whether, in its view, the player’s transfer would be of benefit to the game in the relevant country.
Lastly, a fee is agreed, terms are agreed and the player hopefully passes his medical. The paperwork is then sent to the Premier League and the FA.
The player is then a member of the squad, eligible to play and has to then undergo the obligatory photo calls and the meaningless rhetoric of “I’ve always wanted to play for this club…..”
Cynic? Me? No. Scouting in a nutshell – yes.
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