Big-money moves are great for the player... but they can put clubs in an impossible position
FINANCIALLY, the deal to take Martin Boyle from Hibs to Saudi Arabia feels right for all parties. If the reported figure of £2.5million is correct, Hibs have managed to realise a very good fee for a player who will go on to make a life-changing sum of money at Al-Faisaly.
Just as important is the timing of the deal. By getting it done with ten days of the transfer window remaining, Shaun Maloney has scope to try and secure a replacement.
And given how often Boyle has been the difference-maker for this Hibs team, that could be crucial.
Watching them against Cove Rangers on Thursday night, they were perhaps devoid of that wee bit of speed and creativity at the top end of the pitch.
It’s clear Hibs didn’t really want to sell but having rejected two previous offers from the same club, they also had to take the feelings of the player into account.
Players must believe the story when clubs ask them to come and play their role. As part of the sales pitch, you highlight the future rewards of moving on and there are times when a club simply has to back that up.
Length of contract, the age and profile of the player all come into it but you also have a duty to the individual.
If Hibs had rejected this latest offer, it would have been a hard one for Boyle to overcome.
I’ve had that experience of bids coming in where the club feels the fee is not enough, yet the player has the chance to go and earn five or six times their wage.
And sometimes you’re just put in an impossible position.
That’s what happened with Scott McKenna at Aberdeen when Aston Villa put a sizeable offer on the table in 2018.
Clubs want to sell at optimum value, the best price. And in terms of guaranteed money, Villa was the right club and the right offer. The trouble is it came in at the worst possible time, in the last few hours of the transfer window.
We had specifically asked Villa to do it earlier, that the deal wouldn’t be done if they left it to the last day.
So it was a deal that could have been done. And it would have worked out well.
Aberdeen never did get the same money in the long run and it was difficult for Scott to overcome — for a while, things weren’t perfect between player and club.
Villa were a Championship club at the time and ended up getting promoted, which Scott had to watch from afar.
Scott (left) got down there eventually with his move to Nottingham Forest where he now has a great chance of getting to the play-offs. He established himself as a Scotland international in an Aberdeen shirt and he continues to be picked whenever Steve Clarke names a squad. Who is to say that would have been the case had he gone to Villa?
But, with hindsight, I can really see it from the player’s point of view.
It’s nice to see this happen for someone like Martin, who by all accounts is a very popular and likeable boy.
He won’t have made fortunes up till now and he deserves his reward, a chance to go and get a fantastic contract and safeguard his future.
He has come up the hard way. He was at Montrose, moved to Dundee and it was a swap deal with Alex Harris that took him to Hibs seven years ago.
Injuries have hampered him at time but he has worked hard and gradually progressed.
As an opposing manager, you were always aware of his pace but he has added confidence and swagger.
It’s great for him and his family financially and it’s something different.
I don’t know anything about Al-Faisaly or football in Saudi Arabia but I would imagine that he will go there with a demand on him. He now has to produce and that’s a challenge in a completely new environment.
There’s probably been a few clubs from that part of the world looking at him over the past couple of years.
He aligned himself to Australia which not only got him international football but exposed him to a market that has led to this offer.
His performances for Australia have helped and he has been a consistent and key player at Easter Road, too. You always felt that if Boyle played well, then Hibs would get a decent performance and result. He has filled a number of roles, as wing-back, winger and a forward, and his goal return has been excellent.
Financially it’s a good deal for Hibs but the trick is using some of it to try and replace such a key player.
That will be a test for them. I have experienced it myself, it’s always difficult to find someone to who can exert the same influence.
Hibs have the money and Shaun now has a chance, quite early in his tenure at the club, to go and pursue some of the targets he will no doubt have in mind. Hibs have done well to bring in such good money. Good luck to Boyle for trying something different.
Villa’s bid for Scott was the right club and the right offer... but the wrong timing