Often Partisan

Redmond Interesting the Big Guns

It might be the start of October but the transfer rumour season has started once more. The Metro published this piece on Sunday that talked of teams like Manchester United, Spurs and Liverpool being in for the 18-year-old with a valuation in the eight figure bracket. Will Blues be able to hang on to Nathan?

It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for the teenager from Kitts Green. The Brighton game saw Redmond make his fiftieth senior appearance for the club – which bearing in mind he is still six months or so from his nineteenth birthday is some going. Admittedly only eighteen of his appearances have been from the start of games and he’s only started seven of thirty-two league games but I think that statistic does take away from some of the impact the young winger has made.

I can understand why bigger teams might be looking at Nathan. Unlike many of his peers in the England u19 team Nathan has been getting regular club football and that match practice has sharpened his game massively. Redmond has become a much stronger, much tougher player than the raw seventeen year old who came on for Barry Ferguson in the FA Cup defeat to Bolton Wanderers in probably his first real high pressure game. Having skill and talent is one thing but it’s a whole new ball game being able to reproduce that form consistently at first team level and in the last twelve months this is what Redmond has brought to the team.

In my opinion though this is precisely why Nathan shouldn’t move on. Whilst there is no doubt that a move to a big team will bring the financial rewards that Redmond can’t pick up at Blues – especially bearing in mind the club’s current perilous financial state – Blues can offer something that he is unlikely to get at the moment for a bigger team which is first team football. The step up from being an impact player for a Championship team – and for all his skill at the moment that is what Redmond is being used as – to being a fully fledged first-teamer at the Premiership level is huge and it wouldn’t be easy. I suspect it’s a bit of a comedown to go from being the great new hope with one side to another young talented player looking to make the break in the big league.

Of course, that decision may be taken from Redmond’s hands – I would think that if a team did come in with an eight-figure bid I can’t see Blues resisting it; particularly as a lump sum of that much money would effectively ensure that the club was a lot more secure financially and would allow a manager to maybe bring in one or two players as replacements. However, if an offer did come in that wasn’t in the “eye-popping” bracket I suspect the club would have a hard decision to make – cash in now on a young star who is on the rise and help solidify the club’s finances but probably take a lot more heat from the fans or refuse the offer and keep the fans happy but have the possibility that Redmond’s value may drop.

At the moment the bid is just paper talk and nothing more; the transfer window is just over thirteen weeks from opening so nothing is going to happen quickly in any circumstance. In the meantime I hope Nathan can continue to show one of his best qualities in his levelheadedness and not let the hype turn his head and hinder his performances on the pitch in the Royal Blue.

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38 Responses to “Redmond Interesting the Big Guns”

  • Ebeneezer says:

    Well at £12mill (thats the figure I saw banded around), I’d take that money for Redmond too. £6mill to prop the club up for the season and £6mill to strengthen up the team. Sounds like good business to me. But wait a sec, havn’t we got some highly rated flapper in goal called ‘Butterhands’? I’d sooner get shot of him than Redmond.

  • Texas Pete says:

    The best strategy is to go all out for the championship title and hold on to all our valuable talent till May. At that time the team will be in the Prem and will have a strong position to choose. The kids will have the experience of the full successful season and the club will be in the strongest position to MAYBE cash in for Prem quality replacements, at the same time as offloading the over thirty set. If they do not make it then they will have to cash in for a whole new squad by off loading everyone and start over. Selling our best young talent in January leaves us with.the old guys that lack the young rock star appeal for fans to latch on to as we head to the top of the table.
    Let’s resist selling off our future that will keep us trapped in the championship. We keep our assets and our International players to put us in the class of the top flight even if we are temporarily not in the Prem.

  • Dan Brazier says:

    Looking back on our handling of our ‘up and coming’ youngsters I’m left absolutly baffled by the Blues again!! We opt to sell Jordan Mutch, Keep Butland and now Redmond seems as though he could go either way, In regards to Mutch I can understand why their was a deal of hype and excitment around him but personally I didn’t see all that much from him (althought granted his early season injury possibly set him back last year) so selling on someone who may or may not become a great made sense, with Butland I would’ve said in the summer that £10million + and he’s yours, unless I missed an article somewhere along the way then couldn’t we have kept Foster, used Butland’s £10million + to sub his (& ziggy’s) wages until the finances were sorted and possibly bought in a couple of extra players??
    Personally I hope Redmond stays as he does have an awful lot of promise and I’d love to see him fill out some of that promise @ the Blues so I’ve my fingers crossed that come the next transfer window we have new owners who don’t feel as high a need to accept bids for our promising players

  • Tom says:

    Out with Zigic and Butland if a team offers anywhere near 6 million for him again I would take it, and CY needs to jog on, Redmond needs to stay with blues for this season see if we get promoted then maybe we will have no chic but to sell Redmond especially if Zigic is still there next year draining the wage bill

  • Mjay says:

    I despair at some of our fans. Butter hands?! Out with butland?!

    He kept a clean sheet at Brighton, made some good stops and kept the score down to 5 at Barnsley and was solid at Bolton.

    He made some mistakes in his first couple of games. He’s going to – the lads 19 and in his big step up to first team football.

    A 19 year old England goalkeeper and people have written him off despite the fact he is clearly improving every game and is a fantastic keeper. People have short memories – go back to joe hart or Ben foster or boaz in their first 6 games…..

    Unbelievable idiocy sometimes demonstrated by our fans.

    • nicky wicky says:

      I couldn’t agree more mjay. Butland is improving veery game, and the score against barnsley could have been bigger if it hadn’t been for butland, the whole treeam defended badly!

    • James says:

      Fully agree Mjay – he’s a fantastic keeper. Anyone with half a brain can see the boy has huge amounts of talent.

      KRO

  • andy says:

    Blues put that £12 million price tag on Redmond last year and the report i saw yesterday suggested Blues are now ready to listen to offers because a new contract cannot be agreed with Redmond.

  • Nichollspj says:

    Where is the courage of the Birmingham managers??
    Do they not look at the likes of Stirling at Liverpool who is being raved about & realise that here is another Birmingham lad setting the world on fire.
    When Sullivan destroyed our youth system they got rid of a source of wealth.
    Packwood is the answer to our right back problem given time to develop not Mullins who is on the way down.
    Liverpool have no hesitation in using their younger squad members why not we.

    • nicky wicky says:

      Packwood should definitely be given a chance while Caddis and Carr are injured. He has shown in the games he has played that he can do a job. On Saturday he ran himself into the ground!

    • Daddybluenose says:

      Totally agree but alas it’s not to be instead we’ve done another Gordon again and got a twenty year old from rivals west broom. Seriously with players like hancox only having a contract til Xmas what else are they supposed to do when we keep getting other young players from other young clubs whatever happened to promote from within?

      • almajir says:

        The problem is Blues don’t actually have a specialist right back to promote from within.

        Will Packwood isn’t a right back, he’s a centre half/central midfielder covering the position. Jack Deaman isn’t a right back, he’s a centre half who can cover the position.

        It’s not the worst signing in the world; I should imagine Will Packwood will still get chances as we still need cover in the middle of the defence and he and Deaman are improving steadily.

  • Leigh says:

    With all the comment about selling and then buying two new players, no one seems to have compared Nathan Redmonds wages,and, what we may have to pay in wages to the two new men. There has been enough vitriole recently about Nicola Vigics’ wages, may they not be making the same complaionts regarding even more ‘name’ players soon after if they are not successes..

  • Mark Y says:

    I really like Redmond as a player with tremendous crossing ability and a great shot. He has the intelligence to improve, however, I don’t think he will ever be a top player playing on the left wing and looks ordinary against any half decent right back. He is definetely better on the right but Burke is currently dominating that position. I think he may be able to be top player playing off a striker or in the hole with his shooting ability, hold up play and intelligence. For a premiership club to pay a huge fee he surely has to be a Blues regular first. I hope he stays at Blues for a long time and new ownership can ensure this happens.

    • nicky wicky says:

      If Redmond is going to improve then he is going to have to have individual coaching session where they practice going on to his left foot. I don’t think at the moment he is getting this!

    • NooBloo says:

      I agree with you, i like him a lot too but no one is going to pay a championship club 12 million for a player. it just rarely happens. I would take 6 million if we even get that.

      There will be another redmond around in a few years. At the moment we need the money because financial stability if Birmingham City is far more important than a replaceable ” prospect”

  • DoctorD says:

    We’ve seen it so often recently, particularly with the bigger clubs, that when a player wants to move, they have the muscle (and agents) to do so. It’s a delicate balancing act. If a promising big-money player goes, the club has new cash, the power to buy one or more replacements, and possibly a more settled team as the uncertainty evaporates. if a player stays, however, you’re making the fans happy, keeping things stable, and building a team in the here and now. It’s a difficult decision — who’d be a manager eh?

  • PCTVOR says:

    Think Redmond has gone backwards since his first cameo roles.

    Anything around £8m and I’d let him go.

  • Asif ashiq says:

    I think youngsters r the way forward. Granted they aint got experience but have enthusiasm and energy. If we cant give them a chance will we always sell for peanuts and regret it when they carve out a career for themselves? As for butland and redmond they should stay for at least two years otherwise they will be playing reserve team football elsewhere.

  • V-Rod says:

    If Redmond is seriously likely to attract a fee of around £12m, we are not in a position right now to turn it down.

    Okay, so Lee Clark may never see a penny of the proceeds, but if the money is used to make the club more financially viable, and thus more attractive to new purchasers, it will be worth losing a very talented young player for. He isn’t going to stay here long anyway, so we may as well get the money for him now.

  • Evesham Blue says:

    If Redmond doesnt sign a longer term contract he will go. Blues already have cover for him. We dont really have a quality replacement for Butland. Redmond would be better off trying to become a first team regular first. If he cant get in the Blues team he has no chance in the Prem but a big money move could be too tempting.

    I think Redmond just wants to be a first team regular and knows he has bargaining power. Blues would be better off keeping their better younger players but will probably have to cash in just to keep us going if we dont go up anytime soon.

    Butland could potentially be worth a lot of money so selling to the first offer doesnt make sense. As long as we put sell on clauses in there. Remember Trev getting rid of AJ for peanuts?

  • AL-LAD says:

    Most Premiership teams have a balance of experience and youth, Blues are no different to many clubs in the Championship, many who also work on tight budgets. The major problem is Zigic who ‘MUST’ be moved on, he’s salary can then be made available for contract extension for players we really want to keep, let’s give LC some credit, Packwood, Butland with Redmond and Hancox on the bench, my only criticism is Morrison & Gordon, what was the point is loaning either of these 2 players?

    • Evesham Blue says:

      I totally agree. I was not sure why we had zigic and King on the bench when we were only playing 1 upfront. Where were Morrison and Gordon? I would sooner rather have Morrison on the bench than Ambrose.

      I can only assume that Morrison and Gordon will be going back soon or maybe we pay for them to play?

      As for zigic – we have been trying to get shot for several transfer windows now but he doesnt want to take a pay cut to leave. I just hope come January he is fed up of sitting on the bench or in the stands and his Agent stops trying to cream us for every last penny of his contract

  • Alex T says:

    havent got passed the first 2 comments….. but felt I had to post in response to them (in regards to BUTLAND).

    ARE YOU OFF YOUR HEADS?? IF YOU CANT SUPPORT AN EMERGING ENGLAND TALENT WHO IS BARELY OUT OF SCHOOL, BUGGER OFF AND DONT COME TO ST. ANDREWS. WE DONT NEED YOU!

    Does anyone remember Hart and Foster being a bit flappy in their first few games?? I do, and look at them now…. Butland has made some great saves and you can see the guys raw talent. Players like him and Redmond are our future and the only way we will get our way out of this crap is to hang onto them until we can utilise their maximum potential.

    then, we may also see more players come to the academy, as they may be attracted to a place that can churn out such talent.

    KRO

    • RichardW says:

      Totally agree. The negativity about Butland and the general disinclination to wait and see as far as the season, the new manager and players as well as dwindling support represent a far greater threat to the club than anything happening (or not happening) in Hong Kong.

  • Terry says:

    So much unintelligent comment on here I am no longer going to bother reading. Embarrassing

    • Blue in Spain says:

      Some of our so called supporters are a disgrace Terry. I would have to see them in their work roles treating people like they treat some of our players!

  • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

    Don’t go Tezza

  • Oldbluenose says:

    I am really amazed at the short sighted views of some on here,!!. Butland and Redmond, are both talented players who happen to still be teenagers,!!. Given that they need experiance to fully blossom, Where better than for us when we gain the benefit of both their youth and talent for a long time yet,!!.

    If the worst becomes the worst, and we HAVE to sell one or both to survive, — Then so be it, — but that time HAS NOT yet arrived where we need to sell, surely, ?.

  • Barry says:

    Whether the likes of Redmond or Butland will stay or not will be dependent on how this season pans out both in terms of promotion prospects and team management. Failure to go up this year will put too much of a financial burden on the club assuming new owners do not step in and people will be moved on. If Clark cannot get the squad to perform to a similar level as last season you will see pressure coming from players to move on. It’s good to hold on to your best players in the long term but I fear that may be difficult

  • Paulo says:

    Firstly, I’d just like to add that Jack Butland is getting better with every game, it’s only logical and also he wants to. He is quite a level headed guy anyway, and he knows that here at BCFC he will get the first team action that he wants. What will help him is having a very strong and committed defensive back four, and what will make him worse is a crap defense …duh!!! He will get better when the whole team operates and can be defensive and attack when put to the test, but we need to realise that we could have a big uture talent on our hands, and we can be just as important to his development as anything else.
    Nathan Redmond is also pretty similar, although he has played more first team games, but both are young and are our future. They both set an example to the kids playing footy at school, and show that it is possible for them to break into a club, with hard work and determination ..and be a blues fan. Something that sadly, the Ronaldo’s and Messi’s of this world do not show.
    I hope we keep them both and they develop further and be a bigger part of our club ..and we all have the sense to know that the championship is ruthless at times, and almost bordering on crazy! But were in it, and the fans need to get behind them.

  • Bluehobba says:

    Let’s just remember this is paper talk and I think there is no truth in it. As for Butland, he kept a clean sheet Saturday so along with the defenders, he also claims the credit. Joe Hart is still making mistakes and as good as a goalie he is, He isn’t keeping as many clean sheets as he would like. Don’t believe all that you read. KRO


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