Sunderland could buy out James McClean’s sell-on clause

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/s...ause-1-4388158

SUNDERLAND have reportedly inquired about buying out the sell-on clause Derry City have on hot property James McClean.
The League of Ireland club are believed to be entitled to 15 per cent of any transfer fee Sunderland might get for the sale of a player who has set the Premier League alight since earning his league debut in Martin O’Neill’s first game in charge in December.
And that clause could net the Candy Stripes a relative fortune if the 22-year-old continues his meteoric progress.
Sunderland have no plans to sell McClean (left), who last week signed a new and improved contract which is set to keep him at the club until at least 2015. He is seen as one of the Black Cats’ stars of the future under boss O’Neill.
But Sunderland are understood to have made tentative inquiries about the Irish club’s buy-out clause, as they look to protect their investment.
Derry have refused to comment on speculation about the sell-on clause, but they are likely to have a big decision to make if preliminary discussions go to the negotiating table.
Should McClean achieve significant success at Sunderland and then move on in a big-money move, the Irish club could be looking at a seven-figure windfall.
But any offer Sunderland might make would guarantee them funds in the near future rather than the long-term and it would also avoid the risk of losing out should the winger suffer serious injury or fail to live up to his early potential.

Thoughts? Surely Derry had the clause for a reason and should back that. Sunderland are hardly looking to by out the clause for no reason, especially so soon having got McClean to sign a new contract. They've left players go for big money. I think Derry should leave it as it is.

http://www.derryjournal.com/news/new...ause-1-3669134


New contract for James McClean, but City refuse to budge over sell on clause

JAMES McClean continues to enjoy a never ending rollercoaster ride at the Stadium of Light, but while the 22-year-old signed a new contract on Friday last, the “Black Cats” are believed to have made tentative enquiries to the “Candy Stripes” in an effort to buy-out Derry’s sell-on clause should the winger move on!

ARTHUR DUFFY reports

And since that deal was thrashed out with the player’s agents, Sunderland are now interested in buying-out Derry’s 15 per cent agreement given the player’s recent rise to stardom on Wearside.

While the Brandywell club last night refused to discuss the approach from the “Black Cats,” it’s believed Sunderland may be prepared to pay the “Candy Stripes” an additional £500,000 up front in an effort to buy-out Derry’s 15 per cent sell-on.

However, while no-one at the Brandywell was prepared to comment publicly on the issue, reliable sources have suggested that the Derry Board of Directors have opted not to get involved in the proposed negotiations.

But the tentative enquiry does not come as a major shock and now that McClean is believed to have had his wages trebled as part of the new deal, Sunderland believe they potentially have a top quality player on their books, one who could well net them in excess of £10 million in a future transfer deal.

And should McClean leave Sunderland bound for a top tier club for a similar figure, then Derry City would receive the tidy sum of £1.5 million as their part of the deal!

In fact, the sale of the Creggan Heights man last August has proven to be hugely profitable for the Lone Moor Road club. Sunderland initially agreed a straightforward transfer fee of £350,000 with significant add-on clauses.

In terms of competitive appearances, the “Black Cats” agreed to pay Derry £10,000 for every “full competitive appearance,” up to a total of £100,000 and that target has already been reached!

In addition, the player’s decision to declare for the Republic of Ireland also carries additional finance for the “Candy Stripes.”

Derry will receive a total of £75,000 should McClean make 15 international competitive appearances during his contract at the Stadium of Light and that figure has been broken down to three payments of £25,000 each time he makes five appearances.

And . . . wait for it, there’s more . . . . should Sunderland finish in the top eight places in the Premiership this season - or any season while McClean is there - Derry would receive another £100,000 provided the winger has played in 50 per cent of the games - that’s 19 of 38 fixtures.

Interestingly, the “Black Cats” currently occupy eighth place in the Premiership and if Derry were to achieve that target this season, then James would need to play in six of the remaining eight league games having already enjoyed 13 league appearances.

Cash is King. If Derry can get maybe €250,000 out of Sunderland I think they should take it. There is no guarantee he will be sold to a bigger club for a good fee

And no guarantee he will continue his good form and maintain his current value. Whatever you do it's a gamble.

If I was a Derry fan (I'm not by the way) I'd be wondering whether it would be worth cashing in and putting most of the money towards facilities development. i appreciate things are a bit up in the air at the moment with money possibly on the way from the NI government.

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Originally Posted by PartySaint

Cash is King. If Derry can get maybe €250,000 out of Sunderland I think they should take it. There is no guarantee he will be sold to a bigger club for a good fee

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Sunderland would welcome your involvement as a negotiator for Derry, seeing as how you would accept €250,000 or less, when reports indicate an opening offer from Sunderland of stg£500,000.

You can be sure that there is a price at which Derry would accept a buyout and any initial refusal to negotiate is presumably part of a Derry strategy to extract the highest offer possible from Sunderland. Whether this proves to be enough to tempt Derry is another matter.

Offers approaching stg£1m (which would pitch a transfer value at about stg£6.7m) would be more realistic and hard to refuse.

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Originally Posted by dcfc_1928

But the tentative enquiry does not come as a major shock and now that McClean is believed to have had his wages trebled as part of the new deal, Sunderland believe they potentially have a top quality player on their books, one who could well net them in excess of £10 million in a future transfer deal.

And should McClean leave Sunderland bound for a top tier club for a similar figure, then Derry City would receive the tidy sum of £1.5 million as their part of the deal!

In fact, the sale of the Creggan Heights man last August has proven to be hugely profitable for the Lone Moor Road club. Sunderland initially agreed a straightforward transfer fee of £350,000 with significant add-on clauses.

In terms of competitive appearances, the “Black Cats” agreed to pay Derry £10,000 for every “full competitive appearance,” up to a total of £100,000 and that target has already been reached!

In addition, the player’s decision to declare for the Republic of Ireland also carries additional finance for the “Candy Stripes.”

Derry will receive a total of £75,000 should McClean make 15 international competitive appearances during his contract at the Stadium of Light and that figure has been broken down to three payments of £25,000 each time he makes five appearances.

And . . . wait for it, there’s more . . . . should Sunderland finish in the top eight places in the Premiership this season - or any season while McClean is there - Derry would receive another £100,000 provided the winger has played in 50 per cent of the games - that’s 19 of 38 fixtures.

Interestingly, the “Black Cats” currently occupy eighth place in the Premiership and if Derry were to achieve that target this season, then James would need to play in six of the remaining eight league games having already enjoyed 13 league appearances.

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From that, if that is factually correct, is that the best business done by an LoI club? Sunderland have sold the likes of Henderson for £20m. McClean has been far more affective that that player was either last year or this year.

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Originally Posted by Ezeikial

Sunderland would welcome your involvement as a negotiator for Derry, seeing as how you would accept €250,000 or less, when reports indicate an opening offer from Sunderland of stg£500,000.

You can be sure that there is a price at which Derry would accept a buyout and any initial refusal to negotiate is presumably part of a Derry strategy to extract the highest offer possible from Sunderland. Whether this proves to be enough to tempt Derry is another matter.

Offers approaching stg£1m (which would pitch a transfer value at about stg£6.7m) would be more realistic and hard to refuse.

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Didn't even notice the £500,000 figure, my point is still the same, I think Derry should take money now

That Derry Journal article is very odd. Strange to see exclamation marks in a serious news piece like that.

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Originally Posted by PartySaint

Cash is King. If Derry can get maybe €250,000 out of Sunderland I think they should take it. There is no guarantee he will be sold to a bigger club for a good fee

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That would be quite a foolish piece of bargaining. McClean may or may not be sold by Sunderland, but odds are if he does it'll be for more than 2 million. Unless Derry need the money, they have no reason to settle for anything.

You'd have to agree with the above statements, if Derry were in fact given £500,000 then they would be absolutely foolish to reject such a fee. Imagine the immediate upgrades that could be done to the Brandywell with that sort of money with enough left over to healthily live for the rest of the season.

A bird in the hand etc. If the money offered for the buy-out is reasonable, and if it was my club, I'd take the cash.

What would be a reasonable amount? 15% is the sell-on. You'd have to settle for no more than that, and probably a bit less, of an imagined fee, as its being done in advance of a transfer and doesn't incur the opportunity cost of waiting nor associated risk. Doing the maths, I'd settle now for anything approximating 10% of a presumed transfer fee. Trouble is of course, what would that fee be? I wouldn't see him fetching any more than about £6m if he were sold in the morning, but others will surely say he's worth more, and others yet that he's worth less.

I'd bite their hand off at £600,000.

Sunderland would only make the offer if it was of benefit for themselves. They are not a charity and only care about the bottom dollar. People have ridiculed Cork City for the Doyle fee. Derry City have been brave in the past to play UEFA games in the Brandywell when other clubs have gone for big pay days in bigger grounds. I hope Derry make the right call. I think they'll make over 4 times £600,000.

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Originally Posted by legendz

I hope Derry make the right call. I think they'll make over 4 times £600,000.

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You think McClean will sell for close to 20 million?

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

You think McClean will sell for close to 20 million?

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Based on some deals that club have done and the way McClean has played so far, it can't be ruled out. Look at the money Henderson has gone for? I've kept an eye on how that club has done there business during Quinn's days and of late. Do you really think they'd be look to buy out the sell-on clause unless it was of benefit for them. Like and club across the water, they are vultures. They see an opportunity to make a profit and know Derry could be tempted. Business is business. Ellis Short the owner is a good businessman. It's the way money is made and profits are increased. Time will tell.

Henderson is English though. The only Irish players to go for that kind of money were Duff and Keane. Keane was one of the Premier League's highest ever goalscorer, so you're basically saying he'd command the same fee as Duff in his prime.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/soc...ed-545086.html

Sunderland have recorded an overall loss of £7.8m (€9.3m) as they prepare for the implementation of UEFA’s financial fair play rules.

The loss for the year ended July 31, 2011 represented a 72% reduction (£20.1m) on the figure of £27.9m12 months earlier, the club has confirmed.

However, an increase in operating expenses, largely the result of the addition of 14 new players to the first-team squad, contributed to a net operating loss of £31.2m.

Chief executive Margaret Byrne said: ``We have to make sure that we are financially sound and prepare the club for the implementation of Financial Fair Play rules.

“Our financial results show that we are heading in the right direction on both fronts.

“We have seen significant strengthening of our playing squad with the acquisition of 14 players during the period, culminating in a 10th place finish in the Barclays Premier League, which was always our aim.

“We have also seen a growth in our commercial revenue, from areas such as concerts and sponsorship, which is something that is key to us achieving our aims.”

Turnover for the period increased by 21% to £79.4m, a rise of £14m. However, operating expenses, which include player wages, rose to £110.7m, including player amortisation costs – which reflect the book value of the playing staff – of £29.1m.

Of the 14 players arriving at the Stadium of Light during the reporting period, 10 of them, including Asamoah Gyan, Connor Wickham and John O’Shea, were permanent signings and four on loan.

Finance director Angela Lowes said: “Our financial results reflect a period of development for the business as a whole, both on and off the field.

“It is pleasing to see growth in some areas and the figures certainly give us a platform to build on for the future.”

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/soc...#ixzz1qKdryUCz

It's all costs for the club and about money, profit and loss. The offer is simple being made because they think they can take advantage of Derry. It's so obvious, it's not a discussion. The question is will Derry accept or not? I hope they make the right decision unlike many other clubs.

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Originally Posted by legendz

From that, if that is factually correct, is that the best business done by an LoI club? Sunderland have sold the likes of Henderson for £20m. McClean has been far more affective that that player was either last year or this year.

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A free spending Liverpool paid over the odds for Henderson at 20mil. Anything over £700k Derry must take. I cant see McClean ever commanding a fee of £10mil (although would be fantastic if he turned out to be that good), Sunderland are obviously looking to save on any future sell on and with losing 15% of a £10mil sale i would imagine they'd accept a buy out of 7-8% of that level of projected sale?

Steven Fletcher at Wolves - a good PL goalscorer in poor teams (Burnley, Wolves) is valued at approx £5.5m. Talk of McClean being valued at anything substantially above that is ridiculous. On what? Three months evidence?

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

That Derry Journal article is very odd. Strange to see exclamation marks in a serious news piece like that.


That would be quite a foolish piece of bargaining. McClean may or may not be sold by Sunderland, but odds are if he does it'll be for more than 2 million. Unless Derry need the money, they have no reason to settle for anything.

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The Derry Journal is just a collection of the daily work primary school kids do in their news copy.

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Originally Posted by Sonny

The Derry Journal is just a collection of the daily work primary school kids do in their news copy.

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That's not completely true, they are quite fond of the old "copy and paste" jobs, passing off others work as their own! Their sports journo once stole an article from our matchday programme, without a credit to the true author.

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Originally Posted by horton

That's not completely true, they are quite fond of the old "copy and paste" jobs, passing off others work as their own! Their sports journo once stole an article from our matchday programme, without a credit to the true author.

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Yeah but he was then given detention for copying!!