The People In The Know…..Know by Neil Watson
We all fully understand that agents are the controllers and power brokers in today’s modern game. In topflight football they’re like arses; everyone’s got one. And because everyone has one they hold the broadest spectrum of knowledge about….everything.
As a consequence it is more than likely the representatives of Aubameyang And Lacazette know exactly the scenarios that will unfold this summer. Why? Because the very first question they would have asked when discussing the possibility of their clients joining our club would have been. “So what happens at the end of the season with Wenger if the side doesn’t deliver Champions League football and how will that affect my client?”
“If he goes who have you got lined up to replace him?”
In fact let’s be honest they probably didn’t even need to ask that question because they no doubt represent several potential replacements already.
It’s as basic as your kids starting at a new school and finding out the main teachers are leaving – only, when it comes to multi million pound football contracts, agents are allowed to ask questions that demand straight answers. Moreover, such details and answers to those questions will no doubt be etched into the contracts their clients sign.
And so while we speculate as to what might happen if we are unsuccessful in our pursuit of the Europa Cup, and the CL place that comes with it, I believe the agent that represents, at the very least, Aubameyang will already know exactly how things will pan out. And that would have been a discussion with Gazidis with Wenger nowhere nearby.
That the internal scouting and deal negotiating power within the club has slipped from Wengers grasp means that discussions like that are now possible and signings might have already taken place with a view to life after Le Prof and, dare I say it, even his replacement being muted behind those very same closed doors.
If that is the case, as I suspect, I think the probability of us securing a high profile replacement for Wenger is good. Aubameyang and Lacazette, regardless of current form, are top players that many of Europe’s elite would have signed, and so the last place they would want to end up is at a club where the manager is of the calibre of Eddie Howe, with no disrespect intended. (He has yet to prove anything more than what Sam Allardyce or Sean Dyche has done).
On this basis, given the fact that the agents know everything, I would suggest this summer, (subject to us not winning the Europa League) will finally bring about a change of manager and the incoming manager will be of a European winning pedigree….
Neil Watson