by Hoop Blah »
18 May 2010 13:33
Wycombe Royal TBM 4 England caps.......he still made it to number 1, and has more caps than Joe Hart who will go for a hell of a lot more than £6m (if sold)
The fact is, he has been at Man Utd getting top quality training, he's still only 27 (young for a keeper), was player of the season at a team that struggled in the Premiership, he can still make it as England keeper with James probably playing his last major tournament and no firm backup in place to take over. The £6m fee isn't just based on what he's done at Man Utd the past 2 seasons its a fee that Man Utd see right when they take into consideration his future etc
Joe Hart has just excelled in a team that finished a lot higher than Watford did and his Premiership experience is a lot more recent, he is higher in the England pecking order and he is younger and therefore has more potential. That is why Hart will go for a lot more than Foster.
Also player of the season in a relegated team isn't that hard to achieve. Due to the amount of saves they have to make they are quite often deemed one of the best players in the team. (Joe Lewis at Peterborough for example).
Anyway as I have said I'm not saying he is a poor keeper, just the £6m is OTT for someone who at 27 years of age hasn't played a great amount of first team football in the top flight, and the majority of what he has played was over 3 years ago.
What is the going rate for a 27 year old English keeper then?
Look at some of the other recent keeper transfers in the Premiership.
Gomez - just shy of £8m
Friedel - £2m for a 36/37 year old
Robinson - £3.5m for a player who's confidence and form was shattered
Gordon - £9m
Carson - £3.25m
Being unable to budge van der Sarr from the Utd team isn't a reason to find your self in the bargin buckett, and his form for two seasons with Watford was excellent and is the best indicator of his potential.
£6m might be towards the top end that you'd expect to pay for someone with his credentials, but I bet that includes a few payments based on performance and his personal and team success.
Don't forget that Birmingham are also dictated a bit by the fact that Hart was a key part of their success. They have to replace him well in order to try and have another decent season.
I'd be pretty happy if I were them.