Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[eliphas]

I'm not fully convinced he's away. 

We are looking at a large sun yo trigger a value we would see as 'life changing' for the club. That's not going to be like 5m or anything but maybe 1-1.5m?

Can't see a lot of clubs being up for paying that - could be wrong. Would be delighted to be wrong for us and him.

[Busta Nut]

£1m is fantasy stuff. We're talking like that as a club to try and ensure we get 500K for him.

[capt_oats]

Interview with Ketts and Frail here. I get that people's mileage may vary with Grado or whatever.

It's broadly his usual chat but he does talk about Lennon Miller a bit and he's talking about it having been a tough financial year for us off the back off being on to our 3rd manager and having signed a ton of players.

In fact he flat out says we're carrying too many players for a club our size.

[ropy]

1 hour ago, Busta Nut said:

£1m is fantasy stuff. We're talking like that as a club to try and ensure we get 500K for him.

I think if KVV had a chance to better himself then we would sell but if his goals mean the difference of 3 or 4 league positions then we would need to recoup that amount, would that be in the £500k region? £750k and they could get Josh Morris for free.

[Busta Nut]

The fact of the matter is that we'd struggle to sell a 22yo for £750k - £1m.

[capt_oats]

49 minutes ago, ropy said:

I think if KVV had a chance to better himself then we would sell but if his goals mean the difference of 3 or 4 league positions then we would need to recoup that amount, would that be in the £500k region? £750k and they could get Josh Morris for free.

IIRC @Desp - who was ahead of the curve on the whole China offer thing - mentioned that the bid had apparently landed between what we got for Moult (£500k) and Kipré (looking at the accounts for 2019 the transfer income of £781,000 "primarily came from the sale of Cedric Kipré to Wigan Athletic").

That would place the bid around £625k-ish I think. I'd imagine if a similar offer comes in over the summer and he's getting properly weighed in in terms of salary then he'll be off.

If our valuation is around that sort of price point then I imagine there will be takers but as @Busta Nut says, folk are kidding themselves on if they think we'll be looking for £1m+.

I mean, don't get me wrong, if someone offers £1m+ then I'm sure we'll gladly take it but I'd imagine Kev's taken this in such good grace because we've agreed that if a reasonable offer comes in for him then we'll make it a smooth deal.

Edited May 12, 2023 by capt_oats

[ropy]

Would we take back a 33 year old that has flopped in the Championship/Belgian League?

[eliphas]

52 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

The fact of the matter is that we'd struggle to sell a 22yo for £750k - £1m.

Exactly. Which is why I don't think we will end up selling him. 

In his current form he's worth more than 500k to us. He's essentially kept us up. It's absolutely not in our interest to sell him unless it's money we can't knock back.

Edited May 12, 2023 by eliphas

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Assuming we take him at face value and that he won't completely chuck it next season unless we sell him, I think he's probably worth more than 500k to us too tbh. At that point it'd still be in his interests to try and have a decent season with a view to getting his big money move next season. (Which he'll probably get even if he does only hit 15 or something.)

750k is probably the point where it's too good to turn down though. I don't see an English/Dutch team giving us that though so it'd probably have to be China etc.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

53 minutes ago, ropy said:

Would we take back a 33 year old that has flopped in the Championship/Belgian League?

What about a 36 year old that's a superstar over there?

Edited May 12, 2023 by YassinMoutaouakil

[welldaft]

2 hours ago, Busta Nut said:

£1m is fantasy stuff. We're talking like that as a club to try and ensure we get 500K for him.

Fantasy for Motherwell probably. But if Van Veen was at Hibs or Aberdeen they would be quoting £2 or £3 million as a minimum regardless of age. I and we know our place in the pecking order but come on a 75 year old that scores 25 goals for a struggling team is worth at least £500k.

We have been here before with Randolph and others and wondering why no one makes a bid. The same may happen with Van Veen and if so great we have him for another season. Even if he performs at 50% of this season he is worth £500k minimum to us. 

Kettlewell has done a fantastic job so far. The central defence pairing of Butcher and Casey has had as much impact as Van Veen imho. But without his goals we are most likely in the bottom two and relegation would cost £1-£2 million. More if we stay down. Not worth the club accepting any offer less than £1m. For that very reason. 

Edited May 12, 2023 by welldaft

[well fan for life]

Not to change the subject but watching a team that can't defend rely on Conor Shields up front not playing in claret & amber was quite cathartic.

[Kapowzer]

I'm inclined to the £1m or f**k off camp. Aberdeen punted Ramirez after falling foul of Jimbo, apparently he was on crazy money for our league. He got 18 in 60 games. Hibs are probably going to lose Nisbet and Hearts cut loose Snoddy. Euro Money and 4x our revenues means of course they are in the picture. I have no idea what KvV thinks he's worth but he's on c.£3k with us. As @welldaft conveys, transfer fees offered seem to use the clubs annual turnover as a multiplier regardless of achievements.

At 31 he has a few years before the body starts to limit his game. It certainly offers more of a cert for a return of investment than Jimmy Scott did although less promise. I do think his nomination and recent form has been a perfect storm for him attaining the "last big payday", the club and his agent are grafting him hard.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Kapowzer

[capt_oats]

Tucked in at the bottom of yesterday's WS mailshot...

['WellDel]

He'll be gone and the likelihood for me would be China/America or whatever, rather than a return down south or Europe

I'm in the £5-600k club with @Busta Nut in terms of the realistic bracket that would trigger the agreed minimum bid between the player and the club to allow him to talk to suitors.

He's seen chances of that lucrative and enticing Eastern money pass him by twice now, and regardless of what he says about commitment next season should it not materialise, there's no way he'll let it pass him by a third time.  

Despite what we on here think his true valuation may be, half a million deposit shown in our annual accounts and a player allowed to move on without fuss and set him up financially is what 'The Model' dictates. There's the occasional bit of friction (Hi Marvin), but without that agreement and realisation that full true market value might not always be met, we struggle to entice them here in the first place. 

[joewarkfanclub]

15 hours ago, capt_oats said:

Interview with Ketts and Frail here. I get that people's mileage may vary with Grado or whatever.

It's broadly his usual chat but he does talk about Lennon Miller a bit and he's talking about it having been a tough financial year for us off the back off being on to our 3rd manager and having signed a ton of players.

In fact he flat out says we're carrying too many players for a club our size.

Really good interview.

Both Kettlewell and Frail come across as really good guys who know what they are about and the direction they are taking the club.

Impressive.

[joewarkfanclub]

14 hours ago, capt_oats said:

IIRC @Desp - who was ahead of the curve on the whole China offer thing - mentioned that the bid had apparently landed between what we got for Moult (£500k) and Kipré (looking at the accounts for 2019 the transfer income of £781,000 "primarily came from the sale of Cedric Kipré to Wigan Athletic").

That would place the bid around £625k-ish I think. I'd imagine if a similar offer comes in over the summer and he's getting properly weighed in in terms of salary then he'll be off.

If our valuation is around that sort of price point then I imagine there will be takers but as @Busta Nut says, folk are kidding themselves on if they think we'll be looking for £1m+.

I mean, don't get me wrong, if someone offers £1m+ then I'm sure we'll gladly take it but I'd imagine Kev's taken this in such good grace because we've agreed that if a reasonable offer comes in for him then we'll make it a smooth deal.

Remember that bid was before his current purple patch and POTY nomination.

Not saying we will get anywhere near the £1m for him but we need to start somewhere north of there in negotiations to ensure we dont short change ourselves.

I dont think £750k is out of the question.

[welldaft]

1 hour ago, joewarkfanclub said:

Remember that bid was before his current purple patch and POTY nomination.

Not saying we will get anywhere near the £1m for him but we need to start somewhere north of there in negotiations to ensure we dont short change ourselves.

I dont think £750k is out of the question.

I think we would probably accept an offer in that region. £750k+. I think he is worth £1m+ but unlikely that with a year left on his contract we will get an offer in excess of that. One wonders if he was to win player of the year that adds another 10-20%.

Van Veen says he would be happy to stay and I believe him. I am sure the club have already said to him a bid of around £x amount and we will give green light. Anything less and no deal. 

There is no guarantee he will replicate this form next season. But there is pretty much a guarantee we will not come close to replacing him in terms of goals scored. Apparently Hibs paid a sum of £750k+ for Youan. Whoever finished 3rd is guaranteed a few million from Europe so Aberdeen or Hearts could certainly make a bid. 

[ropy]

All set up for a boo at SOD if we don’t win 

https://twitter.com/motherwellfc/status/1657366330436358147?s=46&t=sZVraqVj0_Y0ETD8LZQkog

[AnderooMFC]

Maybe just daydreaming but maybe Ketts has worded that reply carefully and more exact than we think. "No Scottish club could afford him" means he doesn't want King Kev scoring against us next season.
Championship, Europe or China - 600 to 750k equivalent and we will throw rose petals over you as you leave
Top Six Club asks - £4million or gtf