Peterborough United’s Chairman, Darragh MacAnthony believes clubs should look to the lower leagues for talent before signing foreign players.
Speaking to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire yesterday (Thursday 7th Jan) MacAnthony said Jamie Vardy and Dele Alli should serve as a wake-up call to big clubs about lower-league talent.
“Jamie Vardy and Dele Alli should have woken them all up,” said MacAnthony during the interview.
“People talk about value for money but what they don’t realise is when you pay a fee for foreign players it’s the wages that come into it.”
MacAnthony raised concerns about the amount of money being spent on foreign talent. “When you sign young boys from the Football League you might pay a serious transfer fee, but the wages are only £5,000 to £10,000 [a week],” he said.
“You add all that package up over a year it’s a lot less than when you’re paying 50 to 80 grand a week for a foreign player.”
The Posh chairman points to the Premier League’s joint top-scorer, Jamie Vardy as a prime example after the striker joined Leicester for £1m from Fleetwood in 2012, having previously played at Stocksbridge Park Steels
The Premier League now has 59% of its players from overseas according to figures by the CIES Football Observatory, the second highest in Europe behind Cyprus.
“I’m sick of seeing 80-90% of the transfer money leaving the country,” added, MacAnthony. “The Premier League need to do something because it’s ridiculous.
“It doesn’t do England or Great Britain any good, and it certainly doesn’t do the Football League any good.
“If we get money for our players, I re-invest that money. It goes into the Football League, it goes into the non-league scene and that’s the way it should be for me.”
Images: Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine Livepic
