Are Medicals A Sham?
Transfers and Medicals
As many of you know, yesterday was the last day for the summer transfer window. Clubs were busy buying and selling players before the midnight deadline for filing the change in player rights. One of the deals that could my eye was Middlesbrough (Boro) buying Robert Huth from Chelsea. Boro paid Chelsea £6 million for Huth. Normally this would catch my attention for 2 reasons. The first is that seems a bit steep for a 21 year old defender who has yet to show he can make it in the prem day in, day out. The other is that Middlebrough are my dark horse candidate for relegation this year. They have a new manager, have lost some key players, and up until now did nothing in the transfer market.
What really got me thinking about this one was that, well, Middlebrough nearly bough Robert Huth earlier this summer. They were ready to spend £5 million on him in June. They backed out after claiming that Huth failed a medical.
Let me go over this one more time. In June Boro ended a deal to buy Robert Huth for £5 million becasue he failed his medical. At the end of August Middlesbrough (Boro) bought Robert Huth for £6 million and he was healthy enough. In both cases it was the same club, same club owners, same manager.
Why is this? There could be several reasons in this case. But this hasn't been an isolated case. Rumor has it that Boro bought Viduka knowing he had developed a niggling hip injury. And it's not just Middlesbrough either. It's involved other clubs and players both in England and on the continent. There are many fans and pundits that have come to be cynical about players passing the medical for a transfer. They view it as one last chance for the buying club to change their mind. Can you blame them? Huth isn't healthy enough for Boro in June but in August he is and at that for 20% more. How else do you explain these things?
Links for a couple of the articles on Robert Huth's move from Chelsea to Middlesbrough are below.
August : Huth Sale Final http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=413509&plid=12413&clid=8&cpid=8
June : No deal http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=402882&plid=12413&clid=25&cpid=8
June : Doubts Over Deal http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=402433&plid=12413&clid=25&cpid=8
1 comment:
Agree about medicals being a bit of a sham - i reckon boro pulled out in june thinking they could get a better value defender (distin for example), but in desperation toward the end of the transfer window had to go crawling back to chelsea - and pay even more over the odds for everyone's favourite emergency striker!
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