And still found himself frequently offside!
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Wasnât the most switched on always. Which is why Rafa didnât fancy him.
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We should do the same as Barca and tie down our next world-class academy graduates with 10-year contracts consisting of 1 billion release clauses.
TAA wouldnât have been able to leave that easily had he been under a similar contract to Pedri or Yamal at Barca.
Depending on Rioâs situation over the next 2 seasons, we should be ready to do the same.
I do think thatâs likely to be the next evolution of the transfer market. Identify players early, expose them at your club (not allow them to go elsewhere first) and get them on long contracts.
However it is worth noting that Trent was 26 when he left so even if we had agreed a 10 year contract at 17 (which is unlikely we would do that, I could envision 5/6 year deals becoming normal for teenagers who have made a breakthrough) he would have been coming to the end of it now also.
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Carter Pinnington leaving to go to West Brom on a permanent deal. Disappointed personally because I rate him but with us signing a bunch of CBs for the U21 squad and with two of our first team CBs being U21 I can see why he doesnât see a way to play here.
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Even still West Brom is a good move for a kid with no first team experience. Itâs still one of the top 5% of outcomes for kids who make it to the U18s and I think that is really important. For a 15 year old kid deciding whether to sign for us the consideration becomes less âam I going to get first team opportunities thereâ but more âafter 3-5 years of development there will this give me a path to playingâ
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Heâs a top talent. Lacks a yard of pace but comfortable on the ball, good in the air, strong. More of a classic CB mould kind of reminds me of Gary Cahill. West Brom should be a good move for him, expect heâll start in their U21 team but could be a first teamer this season especially since theyâll be having an overhaul this summer.
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Josh Chigwada, 14 year old who made his U18 debut this season, reportedly joining Liverpool from Everton.
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