Massive money matters ...but it won’t flatter
Cash key for Silva but Hughton insists his boys are up for challenge
NEW Watford boss Marco Silva has branded the current transfer market “crazy” and believes top clubs here are being held to ransom.
The Hornets chief, 40, believes each time Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United or Man City try to buy from abroad the price doubles because foreign clubs are well aware of Premier League riches. It then causes problems for teams in England further down the cash chain.
Silva, who arrived on a two-year deal from relegated Hull, agrees with his fellow countryman Jose Mourinho’s claims that the market is crazy and English clubs are being asked extraordinary prices for average players.
He said: “Crazy is the right word at this moment. “When the managers of the big clubs get this, imagine how difficult it is for us. “We have our targets in our mind, but it is not easy to achieve these targets. “We will keep trying and working hard and I hope that in the next few days the new signings will start to come. “But the market is crazy at this moment so we will have to work very hard because we need more than one or two solutions. “Clubs in Europe know how wealthy English clubs are and they asking a lot more for players. We have problems.
“For one Premier League club to buy say a player for £5million from Europe the price is double. That is a big problem and the clubs have to do something to get these players. “Clubs like ours are now almost being priced out of the market. I think this year it is completely crazy. “We are not yet in August and I think the final bill will be much, much worse. What I know at the moment is it is really difficult to buy players from clubs here. The quality is very difficult to get.
“We need to work for what is right for us. Now we have to keep working hard as a team and in the market as well.
“My goal was always the Premier League. I came in a really difficult situation for Hull and at that moment I had some contacts from very good clubs but when Watford approached me I felt it was right for me to stay in the Premier League.”
Silva is a close friend of Mourinho and when asked, “Do you ever dream of being as successful as him?” he replied: “I don’t dream too much. I have my targets but Jose is a fantastic guy and a fantastic coach and what he continues to do is amazing.
“I need to prove my competence as a coach and we will have to see what happens in the future.”
TOP 10 PREMIER LEAGUE SUMMER DEALS 2017 Romelu Lukaku (Everton to Man United) £75m Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid to Chelsea) £58m Benjamin Mendy (Monaco to Manchester City) £52m Kyle Walker (Tottenham to Manchester City) £50m Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon to Arsenal) £46m Bernardo Silva (Monaco to Manchester City) £43m Tiemoue Bakayoko (Monaco to Chelsea) £40m Mohamed Salah (Roma to Liverpool) £37m Ederson Moraes (Benfica to Man City) £35m Victor Lindelof (Benfica to Manchester United) £31m Antonio Rudiger (Roma to Chelsea) £29m Danilo (Real Madrid to Man City) £26m
BRIGHTON boss Chris Hughton has told the Premier League’s big spenders that money does
guarantee success.
NOT
The Seagulls are gearing up for their first season in the top flight since 1982-83 and their boss thinks they are ready to clip the wings of one of the big boys.
Pascal Gross, Mathew Ryan, Josh Kerr and Markus Suttner have all arrived at The Amex on permanent deals this summer while Izzy Brown has been recruited on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
And when asked about the huge sums of money being spent by English clubs, Hughton said: “No matter what you spend, in the end it’s all about players and those ready to accept the challenge. We are.”
The former Newcastle boss admits his side will be under the cosh from day one this season.
Brighton begin their campaign with a home game against Manchester City whose summer spending has hit £205million – and is still rising.
Striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, an £8.5m recruit for Norwich, is the most expensive signing Hughton has ever made – small change compared to City’s new full-backs Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker (below.)
And the Seagulls chief said: “Taking on City will be a challenge. They’ve spent more on full-backs than we’ve ever spent on every player we’ve ever had.
“But whatever their team is, there is no doubt it will be incredibly difficult. The way big teams are spending there is going to be a massive gap on what we can do.
“That is something that has changed this summer because the prices have gone sky-high.
“One day I might get a bit of money but we have to work within our boundaries.
“All my players have a battle on their hands from day one but once we get out on the pitch it is 11 versus 11.
“It’s about players and this is a brilliant challenge for them.
“That’s why the more City spend the bigger this game becomes and the bigger the story. It is wonderful for the players.
“We don’t have many who have played in the Premier League but it is a wonderful step and a massive challenge.
“They know in most games we will be the underdogs.
“You are looking at your big personalities to rise to that challenge.”
Hughton, 58, has recently passed an exam on corporate governance, a course which teaches all about the diversity of boardrooms.
He added: “It was learning about the roles in a boardroom.
“I felt that it was something that may interest me. The way the game is going these days, you need to be wise on everything.”
When asked if he could see himself in the role of chairman or chief executive, he said: “You never know in the future but hopefully I’ll manage for several more years yet.”
Former Ireland international Hughton, who once wrote articles for the Workers Revolutionary Party, has mellowed since his youth but is still feverishly trying to raise the profile of black managers. And he knows that there will be plenty of attention on him this season.
He said: “I am very conscious that I am a black manager and there are only two in all the leagues.
“We are going through a period of trying to redress the balance. We are looking at the cultures we have from grassroots and academy level and going from that to higher profile positions. There is a lot of enthusiasm for it.
“I understand eyes will be on me. First and foremost I am a manager but also self-consciously I know I am the only black manager in the Premier League which is something I am very proud of.”
The top end of the English game is now awash with some of the best managers in the world and Hughton is also proud to be in that exclusive club of 20 men.
He said: “It’s so diverse, there is so much wonderful knowledge, men at the top of their game.
“You have those who have done it, those who demand respect, like Tony Pulis at West Bromwich Albion and Eddie Howe at Bournemouth.
“There isn’t just one who I would want to sit down with. I would want them all.
“Although, for a manager, Jose Mourinho is probably the best story.
“He worked his way up from being an assistant manager and a student of the game to become a great inspiration for every manager.” Hughton himself played in the top flight during a
16-year career with Spurs and West Ham.
But he admits that the Premier League of the
21st century is a far cry from the old First Division that he plied his trade in.
“It’s so, so different now. Just look at our £45m training ground,” he said.
“We have 13 pitches and we need a fingerprint to enter rooms. It’s all a bit different from my day.”