Ask the agent: Transfers
Ask the agent: Transfers
Agent for Momentum Sports Management, Phil Korklin answers our questions on the technical side of those summer signings.
Sam Parry
No matter the club you support, no matter the individuals they sign, and no matter the fees involved, agents — those intermediaries whose job it is to look out for a player’s interest — are the silent partners of the transfer window. They know the score.
That part of the game — transfers, contracts, wages, fees, sell-ons, add-ons, minimum fee release clauses — are, for the largest part, bound up within a consciousness of football on the small screen, namely, Football Manager. But let’s not discount rolling sports coverage and social media where these terms are bandied about so frequently, we barely stop to parse the vernacular of transfers.
Take the “Minimum Fee Release Clause”. Everyone grasps that a release clause is a stipulation within a player’s contract giving outside clubs a monetary threshold that, when met, means … erm, something. Does it mean a club can buy the player without the owning club getting a say? Does it mean an external club can talk to a player? What about free transfers? How “free” are they?
These kinds of questions popped into my brain earlier in the window. And thanks to Phil Korklin of Momentum Sports Management, I have some answers. Phil is an agent, and agents are the right people to speak to. What I have gleaned from his responses, as you might expect, is that real life is much more nuanced than even the most immersive simulation.
Behind the curtain with agent, Phil Korklin:
There are 12 months to run on a player’s contract — when do agents start speaking to new clubs?
Phil Korklin:
There’s no calendar reminder popping up saying “One year left, time to start talking to clubs”. Instead, as an agent, you are always talking to clubs, and always receiving enquiries regarding your players, so clubs and individuals often know the situations of different players. There’s a constant dialogue taking place about whether clubs can afford players under contract, what the wage parameters might be, whether they could afford them if a transfer fee is necessary, or whether is it more viable if the player sees out their contract. It’s a process of constant weighing up.
Currently, we have a situation where one of our players is playing abroad in a league that has a different calendar to ours. He is mid-season, in his mid-season window, (similar to our January window) and that has just shut and the club have turned bids down for the player. They’ve said, point blank, that he is not for sale. So we have had to take a view that for the player to move back to the UK, he has to see out his contract and sign a pre-contract in the lead-up to the January window if he so wishes. If the player wanted to, he could also sign a new deal and that would be a consideration between the club, the player and ourselves too.
How do release clauses work? If there is a £10m release, can a buying club meet the threshold with a bid of lengthy instalments?
Phil Korklin:
Release clauses are far more technical than people realise. The owning club of a player may insert a clause into a contract stipulating that if an external club bids a specific sum they are granted permission to speak with the player about a transfer. However, it could — and often does — also stipulate that the selling club maintains the right to negotiate a sell-on clause percentage, as well as the structure of any payment in terms of value and date per each instalment.
These are the types of things that can hinder the release clause being actioned. And, most of the time, a contract will mention that the release clause can not be publicly disclosed. However, some of the time, a contract will also note the release clause can be disclosed to any club who enquires. Release clauses can be great mechanisms for a player to maintain leverage or power in their future, and at times it’s a brilliant situation to be in.
However, I would say more of the time, a buy-out clause can cause far more friction and frustration for the club and player as it can be hugely divisive. A player may believe he should have a low release clause; a club may believe it should be high. What happens in that situation?
Well, if the high figure is agreed upon in the contract, and two years down the line a lower bid comes in, the club can argue that the buy-out clause was insisted upon within the contract and unless that figure is hit, the player can’t leave. That can be problematic.
But there are other situations where adding a release clause works for all parties. For example, if a player won’t sign a new contract, and the club very much wants them to, a release clause can be a constructive compromise. The player could be in a position where a buy-out clause can be agreed upon so that the club still get to keep the player, and the player can keep contributing to the team’s success, safe in the knowledge that he can’t be priced out of a move should he perform and prospective suitors want to sign him.
The long and short of it is that no two minimum fee release clauses are the same because they depend on the unique circumstances of the player, owning club and buying club.
What does a “free” transfer actually mean?
Phil Korklin:
The answer to this question depends on the level of the pyramid you are talking about. Let’s take this from a player’s point of view and start at the base.
From Non-League up to League One, a free transfer simply means that a player isn’t hindered by their current club asking for a transfer fee that would otherwise stop them from moving. Few clubs are flush with cash to buy players, so therefore if a player is available on a free, it gives the player more flexibility to move because, naturally, there is a larger array of clubs that could and most likely will want to sign them.
However, let’s look at the opposite scenario. If a player is under contract, the owning club can dictate the transfer fee and, therefore, the player’s future too. John Smith under contract and valued at £X is only available to a select number of clubs who can afford to buy them.
What about the higher-ups with their chunky signing-on fees? How does that work?
Phil Korklin:
Signing-on fees are less of a big thing these days. The misconception is that this happens for every free transfer, which is not the case. But for a simple rule of thumb, the higher you go, the greater the chance that a football club needs to offer a bigger package to convince a player to sign a contract.
In this scenario, a club might count their beans by saying “the package is the package” — wages + signing-on fee = x and however you slice it up, x would be the same value as a higher wage and a lower signing-on fee.
The situation shifts if the player has enjoyed a stellar season, has then seen out their contract, and has now become a free agent — then the player gets the pick of clubs. There will always be a handful of situations where a player is in a great position to dictate their future, and with this comes the ability to ask for a good salary package and length of contract. In these instances, the player can have leverage to look for a higher overall deal if they are on a free. They can make the argument that their new employers are saving x by not spending the transfer fee, and should pass some of that on to the player.
Why don't more players run down their contracts to secure more control and financial benefit?
Across the pyramid, players will have certain club options that can’t afford their salary expectations, or might not be at the level the player wants to play. So there will be many factors that decide where a player goes — and what advantages they have — due to being on a free.
It’s a big risk running your contract down. Players need to weigh up the risk vs reward. What age are they? What level do they think they can move to? What situation are they in currently? Do they play every game and earn a good salary with good uplifts? Is there an opportunity to sign a new contract at their current club?
You can weigh all the above up and if the player is in the prime of their career, or before their prime, and there are huge uplifts in leaving on a free, then moving and thriving is worth the risk. In my experience, we have had instances where the owning club has continuously priced the player out of his next progressive move and therefore the only way he can move to a club in a higher division — often with improved terms to boot — is to be out of contract and move as a free agent.
How does an agent tally up the risk vs reward? And are players happier when under contract?
Phil Korklin:
It’s not as simple as worth today, and sometimes we need to look at worth tomorrow. For example, a player is sometimes worth more to their current club than a prospective one. Therefore, we do a statistical analysis of performance data, both for their current club and also their competitors. This helps us see where the player sits in his target market if he were to move, but also helps us to understand his worth.
If, for example, he thinks he can earn more if he leaves on a free in 18 months’ time, we weigh that up with what he would lose in not signing a new improved contract at his current club, and compare that to what he would gain later down the line, coupled with the lack of security and worry of injury or drop in form. From there, we can then help the player decide what the best choice is.
In those situations, we’ve sometimes seen the player sign a new improved contract at his current club, and then thrive massively, safe in the knowledge of why he decided to stay, coupled with the fact we have fought very hard together to get him the deal he deserves and reflects his worth.
Again, context is king. Sometimes players feel nervous about the prospect of their contract ending soon and can go into their shell. Some play their best football when they have the comfort blanket of a deal. Others thrive knowing they have to play out of their skin to put themselves in the shop window before the window opens. Neither is right or wrong.
Like all of us, mindsets and expectations change as careers develop. Age or life situations can play a part — partners, parents, kids. All these things will go towards the decision-making process of what level of risk they are prepared to take or is worth taking.