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Often, but not always, you read and hear here why didn't we buy so and so when we could have got him ten zillion quid cheaper!; the implication is our scouting dept is shite - when in reality we're often fully aware of what we have to do to make sure we reach the criteria. i.e. How many players from overseas we're going to ship out can often make a huge difference to why and when we may get a work permit for a player.. and especially when it comes to his passport and international profile - no one case is ever the same.
Behind the scenes, you'll ping the authorities to give you a 'view' of the chances of getting play 'X' in Brazil, Argentia, Portugal, Spain etc and get a nod or a shake of the head - you then get a heads up of what has to happen for you to get a permit - it's nowhere near as simple as some think:
Here is an example of a gamble taken by ManC that meant they couldn't get a visa whilst Villa could..so much depends on how much you will spend and who you are (as a club)...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...iz-already-making-manchester-citys-reluctant/
How assured Douglas Luiz is already making Manchester City's reluctant loss look like Aston Villa's gain
Luiz recovered from a sloppy opening 15 minutes against Bournemouth to produce an assured performance complete with a spectacular goal from distance Credit: GETTY IMAGES
22 August 2019 • 1:00pm
Douglas Luiz never made an appearance for Manchester City yet, even now, there remains a sense for Pep Guardiola that he is the one who got away.
Last summer Douglas was in line for a promotion to City’s first-team, with a genuine chance to stake a claim as Fernandinho’s long-term successor after Jorginho’s £50 million move to Chelsea.
After work permit issues the previous season, Guardiola had even recorded a special five-minute video for the Football Association to demonstrate just how highly valued the young Brazilian - signed from Vasco da Gama for £10.7 million in 2017 - was by the Premier League champions.
But just days before the transfer window closed, City and Guardiola were left “sad and disappointed” after Douglas’s application was again rejected by the FA.
It is a saga which still rankles with Guardiola, with Douglas now wearing the claret and blue of Aston Villa.
Dean Smith, Villa’s head coach, recalls: “I met Pep at the League Managers’ meeting earlier this month and he spoke to me about Douglas then. He was very disappointed they couldn’t get that work permit.
“Pep said ‘you’ve got a really good lad there’. There is no better endorsement for the boy. Hopefully he will be Pep’s loss and my gain.”
Villa signed the defensive midfielder for £15 million, with City insisting on a buy-back agreement, and while it may be early days he has proved in two appearances why he is so highly-rated by Guardiola.
Playing in front of the back-four as the pivot, he will be the initiator of Villa moving forward from defence with Jack Grealish and John McGinn either side.
In last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, he recovered from a sloppy opening 15 minutes to produce an assured performance complete with a spectacular goal from distance.
The 21-year-old has also made a huge impact at Villa’s training ground too, and Smith gave serious consideration to starting him in the opening game at Tottenham.
Villa’s pursuit began late last year, when Douglas was halfway through his second season on loan at Girona, one of six City Football Group clubs.
The return to Girona was designed to improve his chances of a work permit at City, but he did not go unnoticed by Jesus Garcia Pitarch, Villa’s sporting director.
Pitarch made many trips to watch Douglas in La Liga and dispatched the club’s recruitment team to scout him from December onwards. One game particularly stood out, when Douglas was outstanding in a famous 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in February.
Girona were relegated later that season, but Douglas and Uruguayan forward Cristhian Stuani were the two players who caught the eye.
Smith recalls: “It’s obviously a league Jesus is well accustomed to, and Douglas was a player put in to me.
“I looked at him and I really liked him. Then it was down to Jesus to speak to Manchester City to see if a deal could be done.
“We felt that when we’d spoken to Man City, and with the figures they were looking for, we could go and process a work permit for him. That was the problem Man City had before, but there’s a totting up of points to get the permit and we just felt the points were there for us.”
Pitarch’s relationship with City director of football Txiki Begiristain, plus chief executive Christian Purslow’s links with Ferran Soriano, were crucial.
Villa overcame the hurdle of a work permit due to these key ingredients: the transfer fee paid [ the third highest in their £127million spend], the key role envisaged for him by Smith, his international record [as Brazil's under-23s captain] and references.
The application was accepted in July and the only delay was purely administrative as Douglas waited for his passport to arrive in England from Brazil.
After just 98 minutes in a Villa shirt, he already looks at home and there are fears among some supporters over exactly what the buy-back clause entails.
It is standard procedure for City with many younger players, but Villa insist that if Douglas is targeted by Guardiola again he will leave for a huge profit. A comparison is Kelechi Iheanacho at Leicester, who has a clause entitling City to re-sign him for £50 million, double the amount he was sold for in August 2017.
Behind the scenes, you'll ping the authorities to give you a 'view' of the chances of getting play 'X' in Brazil, Argentia, Portugal, Spain etc and get a nod or a shake of the head - you then get a heads up of what has to happen for you to get a permit - it's nowhere near as simple as some think:
Here is an example of a gamble taken by ManC that meant they couldn't get a visa whilst Villa could..so much depends on how much you will spend and who you are (as a club)...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...iz-already-making-manchester-citys-reluctant/
How assured Douglas Luiz is already making Manchester City's reluctant loss look like Aston Villa's gain
22 August 2019 • 1:00pm
Douglas Luiz never made an appearance for Manchester City yet, even now, there remains a sense for Pep Guardiola that he is the one who got away.
Last summer Douglas was in line for a promotion to City’s first-team, with a genuine chance to stake a claim as Fernandinho’s long-term successor after Jorginho’s £50 million move to Chelsea.
After work permit issues the previous season, Guardiola had even recorded a special five-minute video for the Football Association to demonstrate just how highly valued the young Brazilian - signed from Vasco da Gama for £10.7 million in 2017 - was by the Premier League champions.
But just days before the transfer window closed, City and Guardiola were left “sad and disappointed” after Douglas’s application was again rejected by the FA.
It is a saga which still rankles with Guardiola, with Douglas now wearing the claret and blue of Aston Villa.
Dean Smith, Villa’s head coach, recalls: “I met Pep at the League Managers’ meeting earlier this month and he spoke to me about Douglas then. He was very disappointed they couldn’t get that work permit.
“Pep said ‘you’ve got a really good lad there’. There is no better endorsement for the boy. Hopefully he will be Pep’s loss and my gain.”
Villa signed the defensive midfielder for £15 million, with City insisting on a buy-back agreement, and while it may be early days he has proved in two appearances why he is so highly-rated by Guardiola.
Playing in front of the back-four as the pivot, he will be the initiator of Villa moving forward from defence with Jack Grealish and John McGinn either side.
In last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, he recovered from a sloppy opening 15 minutes to produce an assured performance complete with a spectacular goal from distance.
The 21-year-old has also made a huge impact at Villa’s training ground too, and Smith gave serious consideration to starting him in the opening game at Tottenham.
Villa’s pursuit began late last year, when Douglas was halfway through his second season on loan at Girona, one of six City Football Group clubs.
The return to Girona was designed to improve his chances of a work permit at City, but he did not go unnoticed by Jesus Garcia Pitarch, Villa’s sporting director.
Pitarch made many trips to watch Douglas in La Liga and dispatched the club’s recruitment team to scout him from December onwards. One game particularly stood out, when Douglas was outstanding in a famous 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in February.
Girona were relegated later that season, but Douglas and Uruguayan forward Cristhian Stuani were the two players who caught the eye.
Smith recalls: “It’s obviously a league Jesus is well accustomed to, and Douglas was a player put in to me.
“I looked at him and I really liked him. Then it was down to Jesus to speak to Manchester City to see if a deal could be done.
“We felt that when we’d spoken to Man City, and with the figures they were looking for, we could go and process a work permit for him. That was the problem Man City had before, but there’s a totting up of points to get the permit and we just felt the points were there for us.”
Pitarch’s relationship with City director of football Txiki Begiristain, plus chief executive Christian Purslow’s links with Ferran Soriano, were crucial.
Villa overcame the hurdle of a work permit due to these key ingredients: the transfer fee paid [ the third highest in their £127million spend], the key role envisaged for him by Smith, his international record [as Brazil's under-23s captain] and references.
The application was accepted in July and the only delay was purely administrative as Douglas waited for his passport to arrive in England from Brazil.
After just 98 minutes in a Villa shirt, he already looks at home and there are fears among some supporters over exactly what the buy-back clause entails.
It is standard procedure for City with many younger players, but Villa insist that if Douglas is targeted by Guardiola again he will leave for a huge profit. A comparison is Kelechi Iheanacho at Leicester, who has a clause entitling City to re-sign him for £50 million, double the amount he was sold for in August 2017.
