Andreas Weimann

[Chris Smith]

If Weimann goes he'd be approaching Downing territory as far as I'm concerned. He missed a long time out through injury where the club looked after him, any decent minded person would want to repay some of that before cashing in.

That said, I think this is probably a bit of a storm in a teacup and he'll be here next year.

The flip side is that if, for example, he was at Manu he'd be looking to a loan move to a club like Villa in order to get regular football.

[PeterWithesShin]

He's been at the club 5 years and was out for 5 months over 2 years ago. Slight difference to rat boy.

[Chris Smith]

He's been at the club 5 years and was out for 5 months over 2 years ago. Slight difference to rat boy.

Slight, but he'd still be cashing in at the first opportunity from the club that nurtured him and who clearly don't want to lose him.

[PeterWithesShin]

He's been at the club 5 years and was out for 5 months over 2 years ago. Slight difference to rat boy.

Slight, but he'd still be cashing in at the first opportunity from the club that nurtured him and who clearly don't want to lose him.

How about when we do that to clubs by signing Young, Benteke, Lowton, Westwood etc? Do you hold it against those players?

[Chris Smith]

He's been at the club 5 years and was out for 5 months over 2 years ago. Slight difference to rat boy.

Slight, but he'd still be cashing in at the first opportunity from the club that nurtured him and who clearly don't want to lose him.

How about when we do that to clubs by signing Young, Benteke, Lowton, Westwood etc? Do you hold it against those players?

In the majority of those cases, due to financial reasons, there was a willing seller; a different situation to here. As I said, I reckon that Weimann will stay but if (hypothetically) he left then yes I would hold it against him.

[Steve R]

At a time when the British record transfer was £200k, Vic Crowe reckoned it cost £70k to bring a youth team player through to the first team. It's not as cheap as it seems.

If we are judging players on 'what they owe us', Weimann probably owes something similar to what Downing did.

[PeterWithesShin]

Assuming we stay up then Weimann has already paid for the whole academy for years to come even before any transfer fee is taken into account.

And he owes us nothing.

For what it's worth I think, as well as hope, he will stay, but to believe he owes us to stay because he came through the ranks or was injured for 5 months over 2 years ago isn't the case imo.

[Chris Smith]

Assuming we stay up then Weimann has already paid for the whole academy for years to come even before any transfer fee is taken into account.

And he owes us nothing.

For what it's worth I think, as well as hope, he will stay, but to believe he owes us to stay because he came through the ranks or was injured for 5 months over 2 years ago isn't the case imo.

We'll have to agree to disagree then but to me my mind one decent season after several years of development seems a poor return. That some of our own fans would support it is an even more depressing commentary on the state of the game.

[PeterWithesShin]

Assuming we stay up then Weimann has already paid for the whole academy for years to come even before any transfer fee is taken into account.

And he owes us nothing.

For what it's worth I think, as well as hope, he will stay, but to believe he owes us to stay because he came through the ranks or was injured for 5 months over 2 years ago isn't the case imo.

We'll have to agree to disagree then but to me my mind one decent season after several years of development seems a poor return. That some of our own fans would support it is an even more depressing commentary on the state of the game.

I never said I support it, I said he doesn't owe us to stay. There's a difference.

[Chris Smith]

Assuming we stay up then Weimann has already paid for the whole academy for years to come even before any transfer fee is taken into account.

And he owes us nothing.

For what it's worth I think, as well as hope, he will stay, but to believe he owes us to stay because he came through the ranks or was injured for 5 months over 2 years ago isn't the case imo.

We'll have to agree to disagree then but to me my mind one decent season after several years of development seems a poor return. That some of our own fans would support it is an even more depressing commentary on the state of the game.

I never said I support it, I said he doesn't owe us to stay. There's a difference.

If you measure loyalty in strictly monetary terms then you might be able to make a case that says we break even with him. However, that's accountancy not football and takes no notice of the time and effort invested by many people over his time here to help him get to where he is.

[PeterWithesShin]

Monetary wise there is no might be about it. We'll make a massive profit on him. Not just his transfer fee but how much staying up will be worth which his goals will have contributed to.

And what if the club wanted to sell him which according to you is okay when I asked about us signing young players from other clubs. Wouldn't we owe him any loyalty for him leaving his home country at 16 or does it only work one way?

As I said, I hope and want him stay. But not because I think he "owes us" to.

[supertom]

I would say Weimann owes us at least one more year. He's got his break at the club here. He's had essentially only one full season. If he left now, at his age, at the first sniff of a big move, not only would it be a mistake for him, but it would also show a lack of loyalty on his part IMO. I'm with Mr Smith on this one. We stuck by him through a difficult time and though we've struggled in recent times, it has led to him breaking into the side where at other clubs he may have just slipped by unnoticed in the stiffs.

I think we've been the perfect club for Weimann and the perfect platform for him to get to where he is now. I don't think he'd have the attention of the big clubs if he was plying his trade elsewhere in England, and he'd probably be a complete unknown if he was still in Austria at this point.

That said, he seems like he's got a head on his shoulders and a good attitude. I think he'll realise that it's best to stay here and play a full season here next year rather than warm the bench (if he's lucky) at a bigger club. He's got a hell of a lot of potential but I do suspect a bigger club will want more from him to give him a starting spot. He needs to be quicker, a bit fitter and also to improve his all round game.

It's probably too early for him to make the big move. I'd say it's similar for Benteke. He will have plenty of takers because he's got so much ability, but another season here and another 20 goals would not do him any harm in his development. Fudging off to a club like Man City or whoever and playing the odd game here and there could slow his progress. Benteke is a potential worldy IMO so what happens in the next year is absolutely vital for him. He doesn't want to become another John Carew.

[Malandro]

Assuming we stay up then Weimann has already paid for the whole academy for years to come even before any transfer fee is taken into account.

And he owes us nothing.

For what it's worth I think, as well as hope, he will stay, but to believe he owes us to stay because he came through the ranks or was injured for 5 months over 2 years ago isn't the case imo.

We'll have to agree to disagree then but to me my mind one decent season after several years of development seems a poor return. That some of our own fans would support it is an even more depressing commentary on the state of the game.

I never said I support it, I said he doesn't owe us to stay. There's a difference.

If you measure loyalty in strictly monetary terms then you might be able to make a case that says we break even with him. However, that's accountancy not football and takes no notice of the time and effort invested by many people over his time here to help him get to where he is.

I'm not sure loyalty will come into it, if we stay up I think he will stay. I think playing first team football is vital to him next season. Doubt he would get it at many other clubs, not Inter thats for sure.
He does well after that he will be off (I would if I wasn't a fan)

[PeterWithesShin]

I agree with Tom that it would probably be better for his career if he stayed and continued to develop with us. Moving to a "bigger" club and sitting on the bench will be no use to him.  At the same time I wonder if Genk fans thought that Benteke was making a big money move too soon, or Watford fans with Young and so on.

[Chris Smith]

Monetary wise there is no might be about it. We'll make a massive profit on him. Not just his transfer fee but how much staying up will be worth which his goals will have contributed to.

And what if the club wanted to sell him which according to you is okay when I asked about us signing young players from other clubs. Wouldn't we owe him any loyalty for him leaving his home country at 16 or does it only work one way?

As I said, I hope and want him stay. But not because I think he "owes us" to.

The club have offered him an improved contract so there's little to suggest they want to sell him. That particular augment is the reddest of red herrings.

I hope, and expect, that he sees things the same way as I do and will want to repay the club for the time, effort and support they've invested in him. However, this looks like another occasion when I'm out of step with modern football fans.