Online Reporter
“They want revenge, they are ready to throw a missile into the Liverpool academy.”
Those were the words of one well-placed insider recently. They were talking about Chelsea and how executives in the Stamford Bridge corridors of power are still fuming with anger at how their best talent, Rio Ngumoha, was poached from under their noses.
This, we should remind readers, was 18 months ago. But it still rankles and the frustration will be amped up every time they see the 17-year-old pulling on a red shirt in the coming years. They unofficially banned Liverpool scouts from their Cobham base but that was not enough.
Chelsea want revenge. At least three Reds players, two aged 15 and one 16, are on their radar. Liverpool now have a mission on their hands to convince these kids — and their parents — that Merseyside is the place to be. It is easier said than done.
That is because parents and agents (in an unofficial capacity, since you cannot legally represent players until they are 16) are being tapped up and, to put it mildly, sold the world by most big clubs.
Chelsea and Liverpool are the first case study used but it is endemic across the league. Flashy cars, big houses, promises of first-team debuts in double-quick time. Commercial deals for pre-teens. Eye-watering money with easily-achievable bonuses to get around financial limits. Private tutors and coaches, free VIP tickets for parents. Family members employed as “scouts”. The list goes on.
This is the murky world of English football’s arms race for the best young talents and the underhand tactics that enable this poaching culture and make it more common. This is academy wars.
Trading young players has ramped up significantly since Brexit became law six years ago, meaning English clubs could not sign overseas players until they are 18. It has forced them to shop closer to home and the talents clubs are poaching are getting younger.
“It is really hard working with young players and there are times where I don’t really like it,” says an agent who represents multiple young talents. “Parents are increasingly pushy, being sold the world by rival clubs.
“They don’t like to hear the truth about what their son actually needs to do to make it. The arrogance of some academy kids is off the charts and that’s often down to those surrounding them. It’s increasingly common now for 12 or 13-year-olds to have figures guiding them and investing early in a longer game. The best players in academies at Big Six clubs are getting insane amounts of interest.
“What makes things a lot more murky is some agents will try to get to players directly. When I speak to parents of players I work with, you can sense they are under huge pressure because they are hearing constantly that a different club can do X and Y for their son, selling dreams.
“There are offers of private coaches, lucrative commercial deals and even houses, cars. The unspoken issue is that clubs can discreetly work with wealthier agents to look after a family in the immediate, knowing he will recoup it when scholarship or pro deals are signed at 16 and 17.’
Players are now seen as fair game from around the age of 12. One teenager at Manchester United, for example, was on a staggering £25 000 a week, one of the biggest contracts ever for a teenager. The father and son had moved house because the player lived outside the hour-and-a-half catchment area, so the club also bought him a house and gave him a Range Rover.
They offered another young player £220 000 over two years to sign his first pro contract. The father had been estranged from the player but demanded £70 000 more for himself to persuade his son to sign, citing interest from a top Italian club as competition.
Often sweetener payments to family members are made to the agent because it’s easier to disperse in that way, and it looks cleaner on the club accounts. Clubs employ dads as scouts, even though some of them cannot even drive, and agents employ family members as well to keep them onside.
One player turned down United to join Manchester City because they were offering St Bede’s schooling and the family couldn’t afford private education.
Daily Mail Sport has been contacted by agents in the past asking if we could help them “get to” the father of a player to sign them up to their stable. “No player is more than two phone calls away if you know the right people,” says one experienced representative.
At most academy grounds now, there are specific areas for parents and others for scouts, media and agents. It is no coincidence that they are often on the opposite side of the stand to avoid parents being sweet-talked.
Some youth matches are not broadcast on YouTube or club channels and teamsheets are sometimes not handed out, with no names on the backs of shirts, to avoid advertising their best players.
“It is a really interesting thing, how it has changed,” says one experienced current Premier League manager.”‘It is not as good as it was before. We are seeing so many agents involved with boys too young.
“They are influencing them and taking them away from a club when they would have been better staying. The agent would be getting more money wherever they are going and saying it is a better deal for the boy. I see a lot of really bad deals being done.
“I come from a youth background — I know all about it. The idea to make it as a professional footballer should be a thrill. I just hope they are not listening to people who are giving them bad advice. It’s a good topic, it’s a real gripe of mine.” — Mail Online
