What’s the story?
There was once a time when spending £175,000 on professional footballers raised eyebrows in the football fraternity. However, these days, spending this amount on kids is hardly news as Manchester City have dished out a seemingly huge fee of £175,000 for 13-year-old Southend United defender, Finley Burns.
Burns, who is regarded as one of the most talented players in the country of his age group, was coveted by the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and, Arsenal, but the Etihad club beat them all in the race to sign the youngster.
In case you didn’t know…
Southend United’s head of youth, Ricky Duncan, was full of praise for the teenager’s prodigious talent. He claimed that there were four to five Premier League clubs after Finley, and said that it is too difficult a task to keep hold of a player when big clubs are interested.
Duncan wanted to sort everything out with time in hand since the youngster would have only have had a ten-day window of opportunity to look elsewhere at the end of the season.
The heart of the matter
Burns now becomes the most expensive 13-year-old of all time. The amount could rise a further £75,000 to £250,000 due to clauses included within the contract. According to his family, the reason they choose City was because they were impressed with their state-of-the-art facilities in the academy.
Also Read: 10 most expensive teenagers in football history
Finally, Duncan hopes to go on to represent Manchester City one day, a sign that City’s stock as a ‘big Premier League club’ has risen significantly in the past decade.
What next?
This recent trend of signing players in their early teens will only increase. Whether or not this tactic will help young players develop will be revealed in due time. Homegrown players in England are in great demand due to regulations which insist that clubs must have a certain number of homegrown players in their squad.
This trend was initially made popular by the Spanish clubs, especially Barcelona, and now the English clubs are looking to do the same in order to find their next Lionel Messi.
Sportskeeda’s take
While this is a smart way to ensure that talent is nurtured within the club, this move could backfire if the player doesn’t live up to his potential. However, for the sake of the talent that Burns possesses, we hope it fares well for him.
