I just read Man C have spent 500k on a 14yr old. This to me is utter madness. It’s possible to stick out head and shoulders at that age and be very average in the men’s game if they even make it.

Seen it so many times before.

And what sort of pressure are we putting on these kids?

43 minutes ago, evissy said:

Purely on percentages I'd say a player like Estevao is a safe bet. He's been head and shoulders above his peers on any given age group he's been a part of. On top of that he seems to preference his football above his free time. He is destined to be a great player.

Usually the stories where a top prospect fails is made story of and it is something that resonates with people but seldom the story is this boy is as good as he's been most of his youth career. Not really a story.

Many of top 10 age group youths end up playing at a good level where as the group from 30-100 is probably a ton of hit and miss. So many professional people are evaluating these young players all the time.

You also need the opportunity in a right club. To me George is not in the right club. He should be at Championship or somewhere in Europe. Even Fulham to me seems the wrong place.

Fulham is about his current level. The only winger they have that is far better is Iwobi and he tends to be better in the middle anyway.

22 minutes ago, C3blue said:

I just read Man C have spent 500k on a 14yr old. This to me is utter madness. It’s possible to stick out head and shoulders at that age and be very average in the men’s game if they even make it.

Seen it so many times before.

And what sort of pressure are we putting on these kids?

I'm not really sure what you are getting at. We bought Ake for around the same price when he was 15.

It's fairly normal going price for promising youths before they sign a main contract. Even if they never make the step up all it takes is 1 loan fee and you've made your money back already. Pretty much risk free baring career ending injury.

42 minutes ago, Remodez said:

I'm not really sure what you are getting at. We bought Ake for around the same price when he was 15.

It's fairly normal going price for promising youths before they sign a main contract. Even if they never make the step up all it takes is 1 loan fee and you've made your money back already. Pretty much risk free baring career ending injury.

Signing a 14yr old for 500k is risk free???

The boy could be drinking diamond white and smoking weed in the park by the time he’s 16.

8 minutes ago, C3blue said:

Signing a 14yr old for 500k is risk free???

The boy could be drinking diamond white and smoking weed in the park by the time he’s 16.

Most likely would not have made it to the point where teams like us and City are interested if he had that mentality in the first place.

But let's assume that was to happen, 500k is next to nothing. Even more so when you consider other youth players being purchased that will make up for any downfall on this particular player via loan fees, etc.

Hard to judge the mentality of a 14yr old boy, take it from someone who has 4 of his own all around that age.

Plus to this point he has been playing football for fun like we all did. I just think it’s unnecessary pressure and money.

It is as u say a punt, nothing more. I wrote in a previous post at that age you can look a world beater just because you have filled out before you peers. Where does it end, 12? 10?

We was having a discussion about not knowing the career path George or Gittens will take at 19 because they are just cutting their teeth in men’s football and it’s the last step up for them but it’s the biggest one.

IMO any scout saying a 14yr old is going to be this or that has probably said it 1000 times before about some kids who are now flipping burgers.

Edited September 8, 2025Sep 8 by C3blue

1 hour ago, C3blue said:

I just read Man C have spent 500k on a 14yr old. This to me is utter madness. It’s possible to stick out head and shoulders at that age and be very average in the men’s game if they even make it.

Seen it so many times before.

And what sort of pressure are we putting on these kids?

If the 14 yr old turns out to be messi and plays for them for his career - then it will be the best 500k they ever spent.

20 minutes ago, C3blue said:

Hard to judge the mentality of a 14yr old boy, take it from someone who has 4 of his own all around that age.

Plus to this point he has been playing football for fun like we all did. I just think it’s unnecessary pressure and money.

It is as u say a punt, nothing more. I wrote in a previous post at that age you can look a world beater just because you have filled out before you peers. Where does it end, 12? 10?

We was having a discussion about not knowing the career path George or Gittens will take at 19 because they are just cutting their teeth in men’s football and it’s the last step up for them but it’s the biggest one.

IMO any scout saying a 14yr old is going to be this or that has probably said it 1000 times before about some kids who are now flipping burgers.

I agree it's impossible to know but scouts these days take all these things into consideration before recommending a player.

As someone who was briefly in an academy, I can assure you at this age it is not playing for fun. They have already long past that stage. It's a lot of pressure to win a pro contract, getting signed for 500k makes very little difference at this point.

At the age of 19 players should already have the fundamentals down to the tee, all you are looking for at this stage is consistency. It's very unlikely that someone who can't pass 5 yards at 19 is suddenly going to turn into Pirlo at 26.

To bring this back to George, I actually think he's done well on the consistency side of things (especially considering he's out of position for most of those apps) it's just he has no outstanding qualities apart from shooting that makes him stand out. Dropping to a team like Fulham where he is not expected to break down low block defenses with accurate passes or consistently beat a man himself would suit him and allow him to focus more on what he is good at.

Edited September 8, 2025Sep 8 by Remodez

I too was playing at a high level as a school boy… we never had academies back then. I played for London which was quite a big deal back then, England being the next step up.

Players who excelled at school boy didn’t step up and others who looked average went on to become good players in the men’s game.

I played semi pro for Bromley when I was 18, we never had contracts or anything back then they would put £50 in my boots.

The step up from youth football to the men’s game was huge, but back then they would literally kick you off the pitch… things have changed so maybe it’s not the same leap with the protection offered.

You used to see it in the men’s game when the older pros would look after the kids making debuts, there was always a hard man ready to test their mentality. Maybe I’m showing my age but you could have all the skill in the world but if you didn’t want the ball what good was it.

500k on a 14yr old IMO is, while it may be an educated guess from what you’ve seen is still a guess. Clubs have more money than sense these days.

1 hour ago, nonotnowjim said:

If the 14 yr old turns out to be messi and plays for them for his career - then it will be the best 500k they ever spent.

Haha yeah big IF. If my aunt had bo**ocks she’d be my uncle even though nowadays she probably is😜

8 hours ago, evissy said:

Usually players that are their youth national teams carrying forces have a good future and are the level we aspire. George is not that. Just looked at his national youth records and he is not that impressive.

Palmer, Noni, Paez, Estevao, Santos and Casadei were all that. We need this level more than George's. However I think he will play a good career. Probably not for us though.

Tyrique George's youth record.. He's only just too old now, to play for the U19 's

2021–2022	England U16	11	(1)
2022–2023	England U17	5	(0)
2023–2024	England U18	6	(1)
2024–	England U19	12

6 hours ago, evissy said:

Purely on percentages I'd say a player like Estevao is a safe bet. He's been head and shoulders above his peers on any given age group he's been a part of. On top of that he seems to preference his football above his free time. He is destined to be a great player.

Usually the stories where a top prospect fails is made story of and it is something that resonates with people but seldom the story is this boy is as good as he's been most of his youth career. Not really a story.

Many of top 10 age group youths end up playing at a good level where as the group from 30-100 is probably a ton of hit and miss. So many professional people are evaluating these young players all the time.

You also need the opportunity in a right club. To me George is not in the right club. He should be at Championship or somewhere in Europe. Even Fulham to me seems the wrong place.

So, in which games have you've watched Tyrique play and how his performance in those games led you to conclude with absolute certainty that he's not good enough ?? .

Maybe I missed all the games George has started for us , played in his correct position, and performed so poorly that it's apparent that he's not good enough for us ? .

Anyone ?

4 hours ago, nonotnowjim said:

If the 14 yr old turns out to be messi and plays for them for his career - then it will be the best 500k they ever spent.

IF .😂

1 hour ago, The Rising Sun said:

Maybe I missed all the games George has started for us , played in his correct position, and performed so poorly that it's apparent that he's not good enough for us ? .

Anyone ?

And we are told to trust Maresca, so who did he turn to when Delap pulled up because there were some big money options on the bench.

I think sometimes with youngsters people look solely on ability. I saw Josh Machecran’s debut against Newcastle and thought wow this kid could be something special. He had the ability but lacked the drive/ mental toughness to stay at the top.

The development can’t be seen in a short time span

28 minutes ago, Richard P said:

I think sometimes with youngsters people look solely on ability. I saw Josh Machecran’s debut against Newcastle and thought wow this kid could be something special. He had the ability but lacked the drive/ mental toughness to stay at the top.

The development can’t be seen in a short time span

This is why I think spending 500k on a 14yr old is mental. Hard to tell the type of player they are going to be when you don’t even know what type of man they are going to be.

14 minutes ago, C3blue said:

This is why I think spending 500k on a 14yr old is mental. Hard to tell the type of player they are going to be when you don’t even know what type of man they are going to be.

But when one of those 14 year olds grows up to be the next John Terry or Reese James it makes all the 500k punts worthwhile.

35 minutes ago, bluedave said:

But when one of those 14 year olds grows up to be the next John Terry or Reese James it makes all the 500k punts worthwhile.

All the 500k punts, now we’re talking multiple. If you spent 500k on all the kids who look good at 14 you’d be out of business before you found the next JT.

Thats without even mentioning the damage it does to these kids who get to much to soon, lose the desire and hunger and never reach their full potential.

It’s a bad idea all round IMO.

Edited September 8, 2025Sep 8 by C3blue

14 hours ago, evissy said:

Purely on percentages I'd say a player like Estevao is a safe bet. He's been head and shoulders above his peers on any given age group he's been a part of. On top of that he seems to preference his football above his free time. He is destined to be a great player.

Usually the stories where a top prospect fails is made story of and it is something that resonates with people but seldom the story is this boy is as good as he's been most of his youth career. Not really a story.

Many of top 10 age group youths end up playing at a good level where as the group from 30-100 is probably a ton of hit and miss. So many professional people are evaluating these young players all the time.

You also need the opportunity in a right club. To me George is not in the right club. He should be at Championship or somewhere in Europe. Even Fulham to me seems the wrong place.

Agreed about Estevao and Brazil is betting heavily on him. He's considered a generational talent and anything less than Neymar would be a disappointment. For me, a neymar-level player would be a disappointment -- not skilwise but mentality.

While I agree, from what I've seen of him, that George does not belong in that "generational talent" tier, I'm not sure what his ceiling is atm. Point being that he may not get enough minutes to develop with us, so perhaps a loan would indeed be the right move atm.

I'm always amused by the discourse around young players because it tends to focus on the player and ignore the circumstances and system they are subject to. We say that players fail because of a lack of talent or 'mentality' and yet never question whether they were given appropriate leadership, coaching and most of all, opportunity. Both are required, but most analysis focuses on the player instead of insisting that we provide more opportunities and better structures to help players succeed.

Messi's talent and mentality mean nothing if the Barcelona dressing-room didn't lobby Rjikaard to give him chances with the first-team. Some of it is opportunity created by luck - Cobham would still be a footnote if it weren't for the transfer ban, and Yamal would be a Tiktok highlight reel if it weren't for Barcelona's financial restrictions.

15 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

So, in which games have you've watched Tyrique play and how his performance in those games led you to conclude with absolute certainty that he's not good enough ?? .

Absolute certainty, no. Just watch his history as a player. He is below the level of the players I mentioned throughout his young career. George might end up being an absolute superstar but I doubt it as are his youth coaches, national team coach and Chelsea Football Club by preferring to sell him.

I prefer our first team being strong instead of filled with players from the academy that are probably not going to cut it. That is what every major club is doing.

8 minutes ago, evissy said:

Absolute certainty, no. Just watch his history as a player. He is below the level of the players I mentioned throughout his young career.

What metric are you using to make this claim, why do you think hes below others you mentioned?

12 hours ago, C3blue said:

All the 500k punts, now we’re talking multiple. If you spent 500k on all the kids who look good at 14 you’d be out of business before you found the next JT.

Thats without even mentioning the damage it does to these kids who get to much to soon, lose the desire and hunger and never reach their full potential.

It’s a bad idea all round IMO.

Well. not every 14 year-old will be 500k. That is determined by the 'market value' and how their potential is perceived. But yeah, identifying and developing young talent is difficult/expensive and generates more misses than hits, we should just not bother. Close the academy.

To put the 7.1% conversion rate into perspective, the much maligned Madueke is at 17.4%

Won’t be surprised if by Dec Tyrique George is ahead of Gittens and Garnacho in the pecking order. Early days but you get the feeling Maresca isn’t sold on Gittens. Heard he struggled v The Kazakh U21s despite being the most expensive player on the pitch.

With Garnacho he has been schooled in a counter attacking system, will be interesting to see how he adapts to a team controlling possession. He is another one who flourishes when he has space to run into but struggles with decision making, finishing and shot selection.