Defence Dilemma

I have a bit of a problem at the moment. I'm in the closed season and have let two of my worst defenders go. I am now short of Defender Centrals particularly and am trying to buy one or two at the moment. I'm struggling to find the calibre i'm looking for but should be ok on that front.

However i have one DC who stands out a bit. He is a French international, he has decided that he wants to move to another club. I have told him that i would like to improve my club to meet his requirements which is my usual line. However his moral is very poor.

It has been a week. I'm hoping he will buck out of it. But worried that if he doesn't he could have an adverse effect on the other players.

I can't really afford to get any worse as i had a bit of a relegation battle in the Perm last season!

Any thoughts?

In Summary, do you keep a player if he is saying he wants to move, even if he is your best by a margin and will be very difficult to replace?

If you have no other defenders I would try to hold on to him. I have seen players change their mind about wanting leave when the team starts getting good results and they see signs of progress. Having said that, if his contract is up at the end of the season, you might want to sell him not otherwise there is a chance he will leave for free.

It's risky.

He might just get over it after a while and everything will be fine, or he could screw up the morale of the whole locker room and you'll get fired.

Rarely

I just faced a problem with Jan Vertonghen (Ajax) who got itchy feet after numerous clubs were interested on him (mostly Ligue 1 sides such as Lille and OM). I asked too much cash from them, so all clubs withdrew their bids and Vertonghen got unhappy that I didn't let him move clubs.

Somewhere in September-October he requested transfer. I accepted. In November his value was £3,2m and I offered him to clubs for £8m. Got couple of bids around £3m with monthly installments, but Cluj offered instant £6,5m and I accepted, so Vertonghen is on his way to Romania before Christmas.

Now, of course I understand that player wants new challenge, bigger club, more competitive league etc.

But come on - to exchange Ajax and Eredivisie for Romanian league? Cluj is playing in Euro Cup with Ajax, so it's not a question of playing in Chamions League or something. Looks to me as a step backwards, not forward.

But why I accepted this bid at all was that Vertonghen was/is still part of my first XI and regularly performed OK in defence. My assman always reported pre-game, that Vertonghen is unfocused and/or distracted, but it never affected him too much, so he never made a mistake that would have led to goal or something.

BUT, on the same time, he never performed exceptionally either. He never got ratings over 7.5 and while he always did his job professionally, I tend to think that lack of motivation due to transfer row will still somewhat cripple players performances, so if he really-really wants to go, it's better to let him leave.

played just over a month in the game last night.

My defender has decided that he is now happy at the club and has even signed another couple of years onto his contract. Well happy as he is now my vice captain as well!