It’s the saga that just won’t go away – the future of Nathan Ferguson at West Brom.
What’s been said?
For several months now, doubts have been cast over the Black Country as interest ramped up in the 19-year-old defender, and it will only continue to rumble on after the situation took a stunning twist on deadline day.
Ferguson appeared set for a move to Premier League outfit Crystal Palace for a fee of around £11m, add-ons included, but a surprise injury during his medical put pay to that and now he’s back at the Hawthorns with a cloud hanging over his head.
The academy graduate didn’t accept the lucrative terms offered to him by his boyhood club, reportedly a 20-fold increase on his current wages as he faces being out of contract in the summer and will be technically free to leave.
When asked about this in a recent Q&A, Steve Madeley responded with this:
“That’s a matter of debate. We’ve been told that Palace did see him competing for a first-team place right away, but you’re right, that does conflict with suggestions coming from the Albion end that they were willing to loan him back. Clearly once Palace’s medics had their say, all of that was rendered moot.
“As for valuations, tribunals are always really hard to predict, but people I’ve spoken to believe £4m would be a likely ballpark figure. Of course, if he was to move outside England, that would be much lower as Albion would only get FIFA’s standard compensation figure.”
Steve Madeley, The Athletic.
Financial comedown
The Baggies have been in a familiar situation in recent years, and it is one that has left a bitter aftertaste.
Rising starlet Louie Barry had a shock move to Barcelona in the summer as he was out of contract at Albion. FIFA regulations routinely set the fee at a measly £235k, but that still hasn’t even been paid by the La Liga giants – now he’s moved to Midlands rivals Aston Villa for £3m.
If Ferguson moves abroad, a similar fee will be demanded which is a vast difference to the £11m windfall they were about to receive just last week. Likewise, if he stays in England, as Madeley states, the price is likely to be set around £4m give or take, which again is some way short on what they would have got from Palace.
Now Slaven Bilic is left with a player who wanted to leave the club in January, one that is out of contract soon and has shown no willingness to sign a new deal, and one that requires surgery to resolve his sudden knee injury.
Life after football: Do you know what all of these former players did next?
It’s quite the unfortunate saga, which will no doubt have many more twists by the end of the season.
And in other news, West Brom missed out on an opportunity to land the next Luka Modric…