Astronomical amounts of money for Premier League-proven players are quickly becoming the norm for the Premier League heavy hitters. With seemingly unlimited bankrolling, the ‘big” Premier League clubs are coming for every talented player in the world, but West Ham, Brighton, and now Crystal Palace are having their say.
Transfers move quickly when you have lots of cash and European football. How often do supporters from ‘the other 14’ see interest in their star player(s) show up on Twitter, followed by a concrete bid, then mock-ups of that player in a new kit, and the inevitable “here we go!” tweet from Fabrizio Romano?
When big clubs with big bank accounts and big trophies on their horizon want players, they get them. With the Champions League being the pinnacle of club football, this isn’t exclusive to the Premier League either. Hell, even Tottenham had an offer they couldn’t refuse sent to them for Harry Kane from Bayern Munich!
West Ham and Brighton refused to be bullied by big clubs and got the cash they deserved.
The only real thing the other clubs, specifically, in the Premier League can do is exactly what first West Ham did, then Brighton did, and now Crystal Palace have done – don’t bend to the pressure of a big wallet.
Everyone knew Declan Rice was leaving West Ham this summer. Despite not wanting it to happen myself, I too knew it was inevitable. Arsenal superseded Chelsea for Rice’s signature and a quickly declined bid from Man City made this a one-horse race. Still, David Sullivan didn’t buckle.
It isn’t often Hammers fans will give credit to Sullivan and rightfully so! But, in the Rice transfer saga, he held his own in one-sided transfer talks and got the demanded £100m+ transfer that David Moyes always said would be required to take Rice away from East London.
Brighton followed suit in not devaluing their prime player assets just because clubs want them and the player wants the move. The move of Moises Caicedo to Chelsea was an incredible one. Starting in the winter window of 2023, Caicedo wrote up a thank you to the fans before having a move to Chelsea accepted, eventually staying for the rest of the season.
He was promised a move and it took nearly the whole summer window to make it happen but Brighton got a whopping £115m for him! The manager, Roberto De Zerbi, kept his promise to Caicedo and let him leave but not on the player’s terms.
Since Rice and Caicedo’s moves, Crystal Palace was targetted by Chelsea for the services of exciting young attacker Michael Olise. With a rumoured £35m release clause met by Chelsea, the transfer looked to be on. Instead, Crystal Palace handed Olise a new contract and slammed the door shut on their new attacking talisman.
This backbone shown by West Ham, Brighton, and Crystal Palace is necessary in modern-day football. The insertion of Saudi money into the ownership of the top-tier Premier League clubs means the astronomical bids we’ve seen this summer will continue to come for any player identified by the sporting manager of these clubs.
The money is endless, the bids will come, and the players will leave; there’s no fighting the fact that players will still be pried away from their teams. But, what clubs can do is follow the example West Ham, the Seagulls, and Palace have set – stick to your valuation, don’t let players under contract take you hostage, and be willing to sit and wait until YOUR terms are met.