It’s believed this week that the likes of Chelsea and Man United have been pitched the services of Myles Lewis-Skelly. Yet the teenager’s representatives are adamant their client doesn’t want to leave the club where he’s grown from a child into a young man.
Arsenal, meanwhile, maintain they have asked no one on their behalf to go and discuss the 19-year-old’s future with potential suitors.
So, if neither Arsenal nor Lewis-Skelly wants a transfer, who exactly is pushing this?
“Intermediaries” is a word I’m hearing a lot this summer, but how can you be discussing a transfer when neither a player nor his club has asked for your help?
Whoever has been ringing Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford in the last few days appears to be trying to create a deal worth millions, not because they have been asked to, but for their own self-interest.
That would be like you being content at your workplace, but suddenly hearing that a stranger is trying to get another company to offer you a job. At that point, they will either attempt to encourage you to ask to quit or get your employer to say they are happy for you to leave.
In that instance, some random person has stuck their nose into your affairs and made employment you were perfectly happy with suddenly complicated.
Lewis-Skelly hasn’t asked to leave Arsenal
Lewis-Skelly joined the Hale End Academy when he was eight, so he would surely be emotional at the thought of his boyhood club even considering a transfer.
Yet it’s not him, Mikel Arteta or Andrea Berta who are pushing for a transfer to happen.
If you think this sounds a little bit immoral, that’s because it is.
FIFA put rules in place requiring agents to be licensed and introducing a cap on commission. Yet this is where loopholes around the rules can be found.
As long as brokers are careful with their wording legally, they don’t necessarily need Arsenal or Lewis-Skelly’s approval to encourage others to make a bid.
A disclaimer might be that if nothing is submitted on paper, it’s not an official offer. Stressing that you are not representing said player could make the conversation little more than gossip, while asking a director or owner about a hypothetical situation isn’t necessarily tapping up.
So asking Chelsea:
‘Out of interest, if I knew Arsenal might listen to offers for their midfielder because he won’t play every week, what would your position be?’ could avoid any punishment.
If they hear the answer they like, they can then let Arsenal know that they casually heard Chelsea are in the market for youth and would be willing to pay…
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
When a player becomes an asset
It’s uncomfortable that these brokers can see a talent as an asset for their own financial gain rather than as a human being.
It’s worse when it’s a youngster who hasn’t asked for any of these rumours and doesn’t want the club he loves to be put in a position where they have to consider an offer.
If a deal then became a reality, this middleman or woman would essentially get a finder’s fee, usually 5-10 percent of the transfer fee.
If they are then the ones who negotiate the contract, they get five percent of the player’s yearly wage.
Which is crazy because you don’t need to know a lot about football to be able to tell a club which players are decent.
Surely some of the biggest clubs in the world don’t need an email telling them that Bruno Guimaraes’ arrival could impact Lewis-Skelly?
If they do, I or most readers could do that.
I would take less than five percent if it helps get me hired?
Dan Smith
What do you think, Gooners? Are intermediaries simply doing their job by identifying potential deals, or is there something wrong with trying to manufacture a transfer when neither the player nor his club appears to be pushing for one? Let us know in the comments.
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