All about the amount offered. I'd still take it though even if it were small. I feel Alan is very professional but nobody--nobody--plays great with one foot out the door. If this article is true, his head might already be too turned. Surely we can sign somebody. RSL and Cinci both doing brilliant work signing strikers at the moment, so it can hardly be a question of market.
The board announced they have reached an agreement with him now, in June, seven months ahead of the end of his contract, 12/31/23? They don't have a pre-contract done yet, because they can't until July, right? Isn't that what the piece is saying. I think it makes sense to let him go, now. I am a fan, but with a foot out of the door, it never works out to keep a player. But if they've already reached a deal, before it's official, without the permission of SKC, isn't that the definition of tapping up?
It's not quite tapping up, no. Which also is a thing I don't think is illegal between leagues? It sounds shady but a) there is absolutely no way SKC is unaware of Chivas and Alan's interest and b) it sounds more like Alan confirmed he wanted to go to Chivas so they made an offer for him. I think some elements are getting muddied in the google translate.
Yeah he can't sign a pre-contract until July when he's within the 6 month window. Outside of that there'd be questions about the level of the discussions.
I dunno. From a random UK legal website, but there are a lot of others, this was just concise IMO: Tapping up Currently, under FIFA and FA transfer rules, if a club wants to procure the services of a player registered with another club, they must speak directly with that club and not to the player or his representatives. I think it is a FIFA regulation, and Chivas in this case aren't supposed to talk with the player without the permission of SKC.
Yeah, I looked at the FIFA rules and this was the best I could find: Anyways, to my understanding "tapping up" is something different, like when a manager or owner speaks to the press about a player they are wanting to sign instead of negotiating with their current team. But perhaps its meaning has evolved or always has been more complex than I figured. Long and short of it, I don't think we have information to conclude that Chivas didn't talk directly to SKC well before now (particularly since I feel their interest has been publicly known for some time), or that they've done any more than confirmed Alan's interest while negotiating a transfer fee with SKC. Until I hear SKC or MLS crying foul, I'm not going to be too concerned about tabloids haha.
My understanding of tapping up is that the tapping up light version, the most common, is talking up the player, and the more advanced version is working out contract deals when, under FIFA laws, they aren't supposed to. I guess I was going on Vermes statement that there's been no contact. OTOH, I shouldn't trust that and it wouldn't mean much even if they were caught doing it. The punishments look to be banned for a transfer window type of things, which helps us not at all. I was just surprised that they seemed to be announcing it.. So, getting $2.2 million off the payroll, freeing up a DP slot, and having Agada possibly returning not too long after Pulido would leave, seem to mitigate against this being a disaster for SKC. Esp if there's a bit cash, as he isn't interested in re-signing it's best case scenario territory. That said, he really does make a difference and we have to hope that Agada 2022 and not Agada early 2023 is who we get back, and on or before the announced schedule (12 weeks, so July 17), or we're in a lot of trouble. That said, who would we want with a DP slot? Would that wait for the winter, meaning we could bring someone in now?
The MLS Extratime crew did a "deep dive" on SKC in which they had a couple points of consensus. One was that SKC now look as if they really could end the season in the fourth of fifth playoff spot in the west, and wow things change fast in MLS. But two was that it is time to move on from Pulido, despite what he is at the top of his game (which is MLS elite) because he won't be getting healthier at 32. Pulido can't be trusted to play very often and MLS clubs can't afford to miss on DPs. There was an agreement that if they could get him on a TAM contract, he might be worth it, but that's probably not really likely.
There's so many reports, rumors about Pulido now that while I don't completely trust the LigaMX media, there's got to be at least something to them. 🔴 El Guadalajara tiene un acuerdo total con Alan Pulido, tal como reportó primero @josemagarrido. 🤝🐐 Hasta ayer, @Chivas no tenía información sobre una oferta de Cruz Azul por el jugador. Y si llegara, esperan notificación del Sporting para subir la oferta.@FOXSportsMX pic.twitter.com/74yIwGzjSp— Rodrigo Camacho (@rodrigocamacho_) June 20, 2023
I think there is legitimate interest for Pulido in LigaMX. However, I'm more concerned about how the SKC staff are going about formulating options for his replacement if he goes. To be sure, they must be currently scouting possible candidates for a striker to come in the summer window.
I would think they'd be scouting targets all the time and they know at the very least they would have needed someone in the off season to replace him. They hit really well last year with Thommy and Agada so let's see if they can do it again. If we don't get a solid replacement in the summer window but do sell him it'll almost be another excuse for Vermes to get away with having another bad year. I wonder if they won't sell Alan unless they think they have a replacement they can sign because the transfer fee they could get might be about the same as a loss in revenue from sucking for the remainder of the year.
FWIW, here's PV's response when asked today: Here is the video of Vermes answering questions from @sperrydaniel94 and I about Pulido. #sportingkc pic.twitter.com/WXPxCx1dGU— Thad (@TheBackpost) June 20, 2023
More of PVs standard answers of not giving any information. I think he and Bill Belichick went to the same school of question deflection and avoidance.
This is the point I keep coming back to on this. IF KC is selling Pulido, it's b/c PV has been assured his job is not in jeopardy this year (more so than the Star piece said earlier this year).
If Pulido leaves this summer, we will have spent, depending on which transfer fee we believe, but with salary, between $14m and $18m on one striker. If, as the tweet indicates, there's a bit of a bidding war, we might recoup a couple million, and shave off another $1m in salary. I wonder what our appetite for absorbing losses is right now, and if PV has been guaranteed that he is safe, I'd quess is pretty low, that we won't jump back in to grab another big name striker.
The season is just starting to look a bit brighter with the possibility of SKC finishing in a playoff spot. In what world would we imagine an organization sabotaging their season by selling off their only healthy striker that can score goals and not replacing him just because their coach has a get out of jail free card?
This is the thing for me. I think they won't sell Alan even if there are offers unless they have a really good replacement lined up (which I doubt they do). Would the offer they get out-weight the revenue lost when the team tanks the rest of the year?
Pulido, if he leaves, would be leaving 2 weeks before an injury free Agada returned. he could be betting on that. If there is no pressure, at all, on him for 2023, why wouldn't he think about the future, first, and if Pulido has no interest in re-signing, he's not part of the SKC future. Now, if there is pressure on Vermes, yeah, keep Pulido and drain the last bit of classy soccer from those feet. But if he was handed a get out of jail free card?
I think we can all agree this is the reasonable way of looking at things. It's just that if Buzz is right and there is absolutely no pressure at all on Vermes to produce in 2023, Vermes is working from a different playbook than we are.
If anyone was still thinking Pulido would be sold this summer: 🆕 Actualización del tema de Alan Pulido.🔵 Parece que el @SportingKC se quedará con él durante los últimos 6 meses de su contrato. Aún intentan renovarle.🔙 El jugador quiere volver al futbol mexicano. @Chivas y @CruzAzul podrían traerlo sin costo en enero. pic.twitter.com/hPRTwBenYh— Rodrigo Camacho (@rodrigocamacho_) June 25, 2023