Is British talent overpriced?

In the next few days two of the biggest transfer deals between English clubs this summer are likely to be completed.

England international midfielder Jordan Henderson is about to complete a transfer worth £20million to Liverpool from Sunderland.

And Manchester United look set to complete the signing of young Blackburn defender Phil Jones for a reported fee of £15million.

Promise

Both these youngsters possess immense promise but neither of them are the finished product. However these are the sort of fees that clubs have to pay for promising young British players.

As soon as an English youngster breaks into a Premier League first team they are over hyped and have a massive price tag put on their head.

Hard

It’s true in this day and age if a English youngster manages to make it into the first team of an English top flight side then they must be a decent player. However so many youngsters don’t fulfil their promise.

It’s harder for English youngsters to break into Premier League teams because most clubs have a host of foreign players occupying first team berths. There is a reason for that, the foreign players tend to be cheaper than the British youngsters.

Money

It seems to be a fact of football now that its cheaper to sign a foreign youngster than it is to develop home-grown players. Some clubs on the continent tend to operate on tighter budgets than the Premier League clubs, so are forced into selling their more talented stars.

Some smaller clubs in the English top flight also sell to survive but they tend to receive massive fees for losing their top assets. A prime example of this was Liverpool signing Andy Carroll from Newcastle for £35million.

The youngster has promise and seems set to have a big future in the game. However Andy Carroll hadn’t even spent a whole season in the Premier League before making that move to the Reds.

Can Liverpool really say they have got value for money yet? At the moment they couldn’t say they have because he is just potential and not the finished product. Liverpool could probably have signed a proven foreign striker for that money but Carroll could be a major player for them in the future.

Good

Phil Jones and Jordan Henderson are both players who will also have big futures in the game. The fact that Manchester United and Liverpool are prepared to pay such huge fees proves that they are highly-regarded.

Henderson’s ability has already been recognised by winning his first England cap and Jones was believed to have also been attracting interest from Liverpool and Arsenal. They could become regulars for both club and country in the future.

Shrewd

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is very shrewd in the transfer market and the signing of Phil Jones from Blackburn will no doubt prove a good one in time. He knows that Rio Ferdinand is starting to feel the effects of age on his wiry legs and it seems he has found a long-term successor to the England international.

He is also versatile, having played in the centre of midfield for Rovers. Signing Jones ahead of rivals Arsenal and Liverpool could prove a real coup for the Scot, even if he did have to pay over-the-odds to sign him.

Busy

These two transfers are probably just the beginning for the two clubs involved. Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has been promised funds to spend this summer and I can see more big money arrivals.

And United boss Sir Alex Ferguson knows he needs to strengthen his squad ahead of United’s defence of the Premier League title next season. These two players may be overpriced but in the crazy world of the Premier League they could just prove value for money in the long run.

Are English players overpriced?