West Ham United's English midfielder Michail Antonio (R) celebrates scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Manchester City at The London Stadium, in east London on October 24, 2020. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Transfer fees have become utterly ridiculous in recent years.
Half-decent players are now moving for upwards of £70m on a regular basis, and it’s hard to really put your finger on what any player is worth now.
Many clubs have started to buy young in order to bring in a player with potential resale value, but that strategy often doesn’t work according to Michail Antonio.
Indeed, speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast, Antonio noted how hard it is for any top six team to sell a player for profit these days to the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona as they are already paying a premium on their talents – naming the likes of Declan Rice and Rasmus Hojlund as examples from this summer
Arsenal would struggle to make profit on Declan Rice
Antonio gave his verdict on the current state of transfer market while using Arsenal’s star man as an example.
“Think about it, what would Real Madrid pay for Haaland? That one was luck, they got him for £60m, and he’ll go for about £120m. But let’s talk about someone like Dec. Dec is 25, let’s say he wanted to go to Real Madrid, Arsenal have already paid £105. Hojlund, how much did United pay for him? £70m? The maximum they would get now is £80, 90 100m. I don’t understand top six clubs doing it, they are already paying premium prices, anyone selling to them want the most and that’s what they’re going to do,” Antonio said.
