The Pre-Summer-2017 transfer rumours and hearsay all inclusive Thread

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Richard Foster believes Ryan Jack will offer the Rangers defence the protection they lacked last season.

 

Midfielder Jack, 25, has joined Rangers on a three-year deal under freedom of contract after leaving Aberdeen.

 

St Johnstone defender Foster, 31, was previously a team-mate of Jack's at Pittodrie."He's very much underrated," Foster told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound. "He loves tackling, he loves winning the ball."

 

Rangers, who were promoted last year and finished third in the 2016-17 Scottish Premiership, kept 12 clean sheets in the top flight, compared with the Dons' 15.

They have already signed 35-year-old Portuguese defender Bruno Alves for next season.

 

Jack came through the Dons' youth ranks and made his debut in 2010, becoming captain five years later."He's a good signing for Rangers," said Foster, who was loaned to Rangers from Aberdeen for the 2010-11 season and then returned to Ibrox for a two-year spell in 2013."He was asked to do the defensive role in the Aberdeen team, which I think he did really well, but I think he does have more quality on the ball when needed."

 

Central midfielders Jon Toral and Emerson Hyndman have returned to Arsenal and Bournemouth respectively after their loan spells with Rangers.

 

"What Rangers lacked last season - they had technically decent enough players, Toral, Hyndman, that played latterly - in centre midfield but didn't have someone who will win the ball back, who will occupy a position that takes a bit of the pressure off the centre-backs," added Foster."Their full-backs like to play high.

 

There was a lot of pressure last year on the Rangers centre-halves and I think a lot of the time they were unfairly criticised because they got no protection from either the sides or in front of them.

 

"I think Ryan Jack is a player who will definitely offer that and I think he's got a lot to offer going forward as well."

 

Completely not having a go at the player, who I think would be outstanding if surrounded by more creative players, however.. have you ever read an article by a player where he says something like "naw he's my mate and all but he's never Rangers class in a million years..?"

 

Although Foster does make some good points here about our midfield last season possibly making the defence look worse than it was. And the Keeper.. I mean how many goals did we lose from shots from the edge of the box?? Hopefully Jack will make an impact in that area.

[917 191]

Haven't heard of either of these as I don't follow Portuguese footy but I'm impressed at the level we are buying from. Experienced top-level players is what we need - can anyone confirm ages, preferred positions, strengths etc, and will they have resale value?

 

To think some defended buying from Accrington Stanley and Wigan as the best we could do 12 months ago, when our finances haven't changed much if at all since then.

 

I think our finances have improved a bit, to be fair. I think the prize money for finishing 3rd in SPL was about £1million more than winning Championship, plus we now have the realistic prospect of a couple of full houses at Ibrox in Europe, in a few weeks time. But yeah, there is no value for money in England. Basically we ended up playing the same team who had dome well to win the Championship. Only Clint Hill really came in and became a regular starter, yet it's not too optimistic to say that Alves is probably on the same wage as him, but 4 years younger and a higher level of player.

 

Accrington Stanley players simply can never go straight into the Rangers first team, they would really need to prove themselves at a level in between (eg. English Championship/other SPL) before we should ever have been thinking about signing them.

[colinstein 294]

why would any player who has proved himself in the English Championship come to the spfl ?

[colinstein 294]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-match-reports/rangers-target-eduardo-herrera-arrives-10561260

 

Eduardo Herrera touched down in Glasgow this evening after jetting in to seal a £1.5m move to Rangers .

 

The Mexican ace flew in from Cardiff after attending Saturday night’s Champions League Final – and Portuguese pair Fabio Cardoso and Dalcio are set to arrive behind him.

 

Cardoso and Dalcio were also due in Glasgow in the early hours of tomorrow morning with the trio lined up for medicals as Caixinha steps up his rebuilding job at Ibrox.

 

Targetman Herrera is poised to pen a £1.5million deal from Mexican outfit Pumas.

[Gribz 743]

I'd be a bit disappointed to see Halliday go because he never got to play in his true position which is a left sided attacking MF player. MW played him in a defensive MF role which he was never going to be able to play in the premiership against better sides.

 

We will certainly be seeing players leaving but we must not get to the stage where, as the season progresses, the first team squad gets low in numbers due to injuries, suspensions etc

 

I think its only fair to let him go so he can play first team football. Seemed out of his depth a bit last season. Didn't know his natural position was left mid though.

 

As for the business being done, its very reassuring and good to have a bit of excitement again even if they are unknown players. It could turn out excellent or a disaster but that's part of the ride. Fair play to the board for backing the manager and to get 6 first choice targets in is excellent work. I hope we add Dorrans for a safe signing.

 

Alves is obviously the top signing but I like the sound of Pena, I think he could well be suited to the Scottish game as he comes across as 100mph. He could be similar to Windass in energy but have much more to his game.

[ian1964 10,416]

[ian1964 10,416]

[pete 2,499]

Work Permits for Footballers – what are the options?

By Dan Chapman

6

 

Work Permits for Footballers

 

In this article I consider the topic of work permits for footballers, an increasingly important issue and one which Full Contact are frequently being asked to advise upon.

 

We have recently seen the opening of England’s new training HQ, St George’s Park which is being dubbed the ‘Oxbridge of football’ with state-of-the-art facilities geared towards making homegrown English football talent better. It remains to be seen whether world class facilities will breed world class talent, and with a 10 year plan for improvement, managers in the English football leagues will still look overseas to boost their squads; regardless of the immigration barriers. At Full Contact we are increasingly being asked to advise clubs, players and their agents as to whether or not a player is able to obtain a work permit and we are often surprised at the lack of knowledge that the game has on a subject which is so linked to obvious financial riches.

 

It is particularly common for managers of lower league clubs to look to foreign players with cheaper transfer fees than homegrown talent. And of course, the FA Premier League, which was once made up of players from the home nations with few foreign players coming mainly from Europe, is now one of the most cosmopolitan football leagues in the world. However, those players coming from countries outside the European Union to play in England must follow work permit rules established by the Football Association and by the immigration laws of the United Kingdom. This process can sometimes prove a problematic barrier as the rules can vary depending on different factors.

 

It is the responsibility of the football club wishing to sign an overseas player from outside the EU to see that the player will be able to work in this country without breaching immigration control. Failure to follow the correct procedures could lead to the prosecution of the club and its officials for a variety of offences.

 

If the club is registered as a Tier 2 Sponsor (as some of the bigger clubs are) then it may be able to issue the player with a Certificate of Sponsorship assuming the necessary criteria are met. However that is only half the battle as to travel and work here the player still needs to obtain the appropriate permission as a Tier 2 (Sportsperson). This is the route adopted by many clubs although it is always worthwhile to consider other options to ensure that exceptional talent does not slip through the net in view of the stringent criteria the club and the prospective player will have to meet before the player can come to the United Kingdom to work.

 

The ‘Tier 2 (Sportsperson) ’ Criteria – Traditional Route

 

To issue a Certificate of Sponsorship the club will need to obtain an endorsement for the player from the appropriate governing body for his sport confirming that the player is internationally established as a player or coach at the highest level, and will make a significant contribution to the development of football at the highest level in the UK. As a result Certificates of Sponsorship can usually only be issued to international football players of the “highest calibre” who are considered able to make a significant contribution to the development of the game of football in the United Kingdom at the highest level. The current rules define a player as automatically being of the highest calibre provided:

 

(1) they have played for their country in at least 75% of its competitive A team matches in the two years preceding the application; and

 

(2) the player’s country must be at or above 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings.

 

There are some issues to consider here. Firstly, the 75% rule means that a player must have played in 75% of games of which he has been available for selection. If a player has been injured, this will be taken into consideration when assessing the application and the applicant must provide evidence of the extent and length of the injury and impact on their playing prospects. Suspensions will also be taken into consideration in the same way. To be considered to have ‘played’ in 75% of games, the player needs only to have been selected for the squad.

 

Secondly, “competitive A team matches” refer to competitive senior international matches including, but not exclusively: World Cup Finals and Qualifying group games, UEFA European Championships and Qualifiers and other Cups and Competitions specific to other nations. We can advise on games which will be considered competitive for this purpose.

 

Finally, the 70th place criterion is not as straightforward as it may first appear. The player’s national team must be at or above 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings when averaged over the two years preceding the date of the application. Therefore, it is helpful to be ahead of the game in this respect – not only predicting when a country is rising up the rankings, but when they become eligible due to their average ranking position. At Full Contact we have recently advised a club on a particular nation that we are aware will soon qualify with an average top 70 ranking, which has given that club the opportunity to source players from that country well before any other club is aware that it might be a possibility. Any club wishing to take on a new international talent must be able to provide written confirmation of the player’s international appearance record in the previous two years, highlighting competitive A matches. If the player meets the criteria and an application is granted, the permit will be given for the length of the player’s contract, up to a maximum of five years.

 

Where players do not qualify under the above criteria which presume he is of the “highest calibre” it is still possible to seek a work permit premised on the player having exceptional ability and potential to contribute to English football. Such applications are still rare, often as a club is not prepared to take the risk, uncertainty and expense involved, but at Full Contact we do believe that in certain cases it is worth considering the merit of such an application. If a club in the UK had have been seeking a work permit for Leo Messi prior to him obtaining sufficient caps for Argentina to qualify we are confident that we could have obtained that work permit!

 

Where a Tier 2 work permit is not obtainable a number of clubs choose to turn to the alternative options available.

 

Alternative Routes?

 

(1) Purchase and Loan

This model has been used by the likes of Arsenal when purchasing Carlos Vela and Wellington Silva. Essentially, the club is able to purchase a player and register him, making him a paid player of the club. The club then loan the player to a club in an EU country with less stringent immigration laws. Once the player is on loan, it is hoped he will develop into a national player thus satisfying the criterion of the traditional route above (or become qualified under (2) below).

(2) Dual Citizenship and Family Connections

It is always important to investigate whether a player can actually obtain EU/UK citizenship via family connections. It is amazing how many Brazilians, for example, do not realise that due to family connections they can obtain Portuguese nationality. Once they have that, they have freedom within the EU.

 

If the player’s spouse is an EU Citizen who is planning to come to the United Kingdom to work this may give the player the right to accompany them to the United Kingdom and work.

 

(3) High Net Worth Players

This is a more novel, and certainly less common model which only a few clubs are aware of. If an individual has more than £1million to ‘invest’ in the UK he can obtain entry clearance for an initial period of at least 3 years. Applicants may rely on their own money as well as money that they own jointly with their spouse or partner or even on money owned by their spouse or partner outright. Further permission to remain in the United Kingdom can be granted after the initial period and this route can ultimately lead to settlement.

 

Any club, player or agent who wishes to have bespoke and detailed advice about an immigration issue should contact Dan Chapman. Full Contact’s parent law firm contains a partner who specialises in immigration matters, and we are thus well placed to use our combined expertise of sports law, football agency and immigration to provide pragmatic and thorough advice. Don’t be a club that misses out on a Messi-esque opportunity!

[JFK-1 1,674]

Beginning to look as if Kiernan is surplus to requirements and Wilson may struggle to get back into it once recovered. May Portugal be plagued in the confederations cup and Alves where he should be prior to June 29th.

[pete 2,499]

Beginning to look as if Kiernan is surplus to requirements and Wilson may struggle to get back into it once recovered. May Portugal be plagued in the confederations cup and Alves where he should be prior to June 29th.

 

Personally I think Wilson suffered next to Kiernen. If you do not trust your partner it affects your own game. Kiernen was a car-crash.