REALITY CHEQUE
Deane blasts ‘unsustainable’ transfer madness as spending goes off scale
BRIAN DEANE has slammed football’s transfer madness and believes it is a symbol of the sport losing its way 25 years after the start of the Premier League. The former Sheffield United and Leeds striker scored the first Premier League goal in 1992. Back then, the £1million transfer fee paid by Manchester United for Eric Cantona in November of that season was a big investment. Now, a growing number of players can earn that in a month. And Deane believes the kind of sums being spent this summer are not sustainable – and demonstrate just how far removed football has become from the real world. He said: “I look at the figures and think that we’ve lost touch with reality. “I listen to some of the things Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti said about there being a market for the really exceptional players. I agree with them to a certain extent about the money being paid for the top six or so players in the world. “But now we’re seeing bids of £60m being turned down for players I’ve never even heard of. There must surely come a point when fans have to take a dose of reality. “I would love clubs, fans and owners to turn around and say, ‘OK, we might not win the league, but we’re going to develop our club over the next 10 years’. “Does football mean so much that you’re happy to see that money being spent and not care about what happens as a result. It’s surely better for a club to take a long-term view on what’s happening.” Deane (left), now 49, also laments the marginal role English players currently play in the top flight. On that opening weekend of the 1992-93 season when he scored his historic goal, no one in Sheffield United’s starting line-up was from outside Britain. But English players are now in the minority, and Deane added: “Andy Cole would be worth £50m now. “I like Romelu Lukaku, but he’s no different to me or Les Ferdinand – big, strong, mobile, can use his head and his feet. Those forwards are at a premium now, but the kind of sums involved are just madness.”