Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
With the second coming of Jesus at Manchester City at the start of the year it meant that their Nigerian international forward Kelechi Iheanacho had slipped down the pecking order, so much so that he has been earmarked for an Etihad departure this Summer.
It was believed that a move to West Ham could be on the cards, one that should it come to fruition would see him link up with former teammate Pablo Zabaleta at the London Stadium. A fee of £25m was not only quoted but one that Slaven Bilic looked willing to part with.
But there has been a stumbling block to any potential deal with that being the insistence that their is a buy-back clause inserted into a deal for Iheanacho. This is one that is often seen on the continent with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona using it to good effect over the past few years.
A perfect example of this would be Alvaro Morata’s move to Juventus back in 2014, the Spanish international spent two seasons in Turin and even played a part in knocking out his parent club Real Madrid out of the 2015 Champions League.
But once his star began to shine in Italy then Los Blancos knew it was time to activate the buy-back clause that was in Morata’s contract and bring him home. This kind of arrangement is something that City boss Pep Guardiola would like to establish should his 20 year old forward leave Manchester.
In doing so it is a form of insurance for the selling club as should there be a time when Pep Guadiola is no longer City boss (which knowing his love of 3 to 4 year cycles could only be a few years away) and Iheanacho finds the net with any regularity with a new club then it is an ideal way to see a talented player that you let depart then return.
Any club that does accept this buy back clause will end up making some profit on a deal though, with a fee of £25m being asked by Manchester City there is also a £10m addition to the buy back, so although in this example West Ham would lose a player then would make a small return.
In essence it is a form of loan deal albeit an expensive one but one that could suit both parties. Iheanacho goes away and gets more game time and could in theory become the real deal and West Ham get a genuine goal threat to boot but knowing that Manchester City could click their fingers whenever they see fit.
The dilemma now for West Ham manager Slaven Bilic and any other club which is looking to acquire the services of the Nigerian is to decide whether this clause is a worthwhile one in regards to obtaining a much needed forward or do they look elsewhere to sign a player who would be 100% their own.
The risk here is that they may well get a striker without any clauses in the contract but will they have the same level of quality as someone like Iheanacho. There are plusses and minuses to both sides but in my opinion it is a worrying sight if we start seeing buy back clauses become the norm in this country as then it only strengthens the grip of the top clubs in regards to the transfer market.
