I've never had this 'problem' before

Now, I've seen this asked a few times on here, but personally I always flick over it. 'A good youth prospect' I laugh to myself - 'as if that would ever happen to me'

No, my worries are normally having enough players to fill my squad or my keeper refusing to sign a new contract. Now however, a 16 year old youth player is attracting the attention of big clubs. Crystal Palace have tried to be cheeky already and offered £0, and were promptly told where to go, but I don't really want to sell him.

He may look pretty bang average to you, but I'm a struggling League 1 side. His value is £120,000 at the moment, but I've got him on a provisional professional contract for when he turns 17.

The question is really, is 16 too young for the physical nature of central defence in the football league? I fear if I don't play him, I'm going to be forced to sell him on the cheap, but I don't want his inexperience to cost us too many points. League 1 centre halves get more than League 2 centre halves, which is what he'll be if we aren't any better than the second half of last year.

I can accept that this is Stockport County - we are a selling club, and I don't expect him to be playing for us in 10 years time. I would however, like our fans to get at least a glimpse of our future premier league star before he is sold on - too many times in this club's history that hasn't happened.

Why would you play him in the central defence? Considering his so-so jumping and poor strength he'll not perform well there.

Just slot him into the midfield and rotate with your first team players. He's good enough for that. Actually I'd say he's quite good for League one football!

Centre half is his 'natural' position

Strength is a concern, but 18 heading probably makes up for 9 jumping. He could be a good defensive minded midfielder though. I'll look into subbing him in there once the season starts, as I play a 3 man midfield, so it should be easier

try to loan him out, Im sure that a championship or a lower premiership team would love to have him for a season. You can get around 100k for him for 1 season. Or is it a problem due to his age?

I can't loan him out due to the fact he's on a youth contract. I can once he turns 17 in september though

I just don't want to sell him, get a pittance for him and then see him rot in a premiership side's reserves for years

Just play him - surely in League One you can't have a MUCH better DM, which is probably where I would play him at that level

I would play him, and I've only got Paul Turnbull who is an average L1 DM, but I don't want to get completely run over in the midfield, which could happen to a 16 year old. I'm sure he will get game time, and it will be interesting to see if he becomes a regular this season.

age = irrelevant, all about stats

try to loan him out, Im sure that a championship or a lower premiership team would love to have him for a season. You can get around 100k for him for 1 season. Or is it a problem due to his age?

Don't loan him, thats just wasting him at your level.

First things first get him to sign a full time contract when he turns 17yo for as long as he'll agree to.

Set an asking price for him at around £40m, this will put off a lot of teams and stop them making bids. Even if they do the bids should be £10m+. As long as he is happy you should have no problems keeping him for 2-4 seasons. At some stage you'll probably need to sell him though unless you get some success.

I agree he probably needs to start in midfield and would make a good DMC. Stick him on the bench for every game and bring him on at DMC/MC as much as you can. As you gain more confidence in him and if he performs ok start him. Eventually he'll probably drop back to DC and would make a good "cover" player alongside a "stopper" (maybe quicker than you think).

With respect no team will bid 10m for him, the max amount they will bid has a ceiling and does not depend on your asking price - so long as your asking price is not below this 'ceiling'

In my view you should give him first team playing time. He looks like a great prospect which should already be good enough for L1.

Just make sure you don't play him too much. In my experience, first team starts are way more valuable than sub entries. Thus you may give him a run of 2 or 3 starts every now and then and it should be fine in terms of progress. Also this way you can ensure that his value will rise.

Regarding his position I would be hesitatnt to field him as a DC as well due to his lowish jumping. I would put him on the team as a DMC or a defensive minded MC and give him according position training while at the same timr trying to shape his attributes more towards the DC position (i.e. trying to increase his jumping foremost) as he could still become great there as well.

With respect no team will bid 10m for him, the max amount they will bid has a ceiling and does not depend on your asking price - so long as your asking price is not below this 'ceiling'

Which isn't a problem as he doesn't want to sell.

What it does is put other teams off and most of the time they'll target other players. However if an AI team chooses to make a bid that bid will probably be in excess of £10m if the asking price is £40m.

Which isn't a problem as he doesn't want to sell.

What it does is put other teams off and most of the time they'll target other players. However if an AI team chooses to make a bid that bid will probably be in excess of £10m if the asking price is £40m.

The amount they bid does not depend on the asking price, unless the asking price is below the preset ceiling amount - just for your understanding.

If the valuation is 120k the board may sell him even if the offer is maybe 6 or 7m.

Centre half is his 'natural' position

Strength is a concern, but 18 heading probably makes up for 9 jumping. He could be a good defensive minded midfielder though. I'll look into subbing him in there once the season starts, as I play a 3 man midfield, so it should be easier

No it never makes up for low strength and jumping.

Concerning positions - if it's good enough to be displayed (>=15), then it's good enough for everything. He's very athletic and technically decent. I wouldn't worry about being overrun unless he's the only central midfielder on the field.

Just...play him for a while and see for yourself.

The amount they bid does not depend on the asking price, unless the asking price is below the preset ceiling amount - just for your understanding.

The asking price you set plays a role in the AI choosing to make a bid and the amount of that bid.

I can show you 1001 examples of this being the case.

I'm not saying there isn't a ceiling to an AI teams bid amount I'm just saying that setting an asking price makes a difference to the bids you receive.

It does impact but lets say for arguments sake the following:

This player's ceiling amount that other clubs will bid (A dynamic figure in the db) is currently 5m

Your asking price is 10m = max bid will be 5m

Your asking price is 40m = max bid will be 5m

Your asking price is 1m = bids will normally start at 1m

If your asking price is higher that does not mean you will get higher bids - but it will stop bids being received at all.

Try to retrain position to cm or dm. If you retrain to cm, use him as a defensive minded central playmaker. Train his passing and tactical skills, and voila, youll have a top hard working ball winning midfielder at the age of 20. Give him match experience (should be around 10-15 games of 45 mins. a season for this year, when he turns 17, you can field him more often), and tutor him. Name your dm as tutor, or sign one of the old cm/dm, ex stars that are available (Nicky Butt is an awesome tutor, same with any of the old ones from star clubs), you can afford having one to make sure he progesses.

It does impact but lets say for arguments sake the following:

This player's ceiling amount that other clubs will bid (A dynamic figure in the db) is currently 5m

Your asking price is 10m = max bid will be 5m

Your asking price is 40m = max bid will be 5m

Your asking price is 1m = bids will normally start at 1m

If your asking price is higher that does not mean you will get higher bids - but it will stop bids being received at all.

Where have I said I disagree with that???

The main point of a high asking price is to put other teams off.

Where have I said I disagree with that???

The main point of a high asking price is to put other teams off.

I didn't say you did, this was never an argument but something that is nice to know and have understanding of.

Ok, season hasn't started yet, but my assistant played him at left back (which isn't even listed as a position) in a friendly and he came out with a rating of 9.7, scoring twice.

Price set at £40M. I don't play a DM, but do play a defensive minded MC, so he'll probably play a few starts here and there in that position. Still can't decide whether to retrain him as a midfielder, or concentrate on him eventually becoming a quality defender. Has been given a squad number for the new season (25), and will be on the bench for the first game.

He played 20 minutes of the opening day 1-0 win at Oldham

I think I'll wait for a slightly easier game than Notts Co away before giving him his first start.

Heading is how good / accurate a players headers are; jumping is how often they win headers (and is influenced by height).

I'd play him if he's good enough, just don't pick him when his condition is below 96%, so that he's never feeling too tired or jaded. Make sure you have him on specific training too.

He looks ok for League 1, but stats definitely point to a DM role rather than centre defence.

Played his first full 90 minutes against Bristol Rovers at home. We won 1-0 and he came out with a 7.5 rating and came VERY close with a free kick.

Very impressed so far - just turn 17 and get that contract signed. He's a stockport born lad too which makes it even better if possible.

I really love how committed you are to the fans OP, well done. This bloke, based on my admittedly limited experience in L1, looks very good now already. He would have walked into my Oldham promotion team probably. I wouldn't waste your time on trying to make him a defender though, would be difficult to improve his jumping enough even with quality staff and facilities. He's born to be a midfield general.

Ok, season hasn't started yet, but my assistant played him at left back (which isn't even listed as a position) in a friendly and he came out with a rating of 9.7, scoring twice.

Price set at £40M. I don't play a DM, but do play a defensive minded MC, so he'll probably play a few starts here and there in that position. Still can't decide whether to retrain him as a midfielder, or concentrate on him eventually becoming a quality defender. Has been given a squad number for the new season (25), and will be on the bench for the first game.

About positions:

Every player can play in any position regardless of what their natural positions are, YES even when it gives you a red dot they actually might do a good job.

If a player plays out of position the only rating that is affected negatively is his decisions.

The key is to know if a player is versatile enough and recognize the ratings that are needed for that position.

Sometimes it happens that a player is slightly concerned that you don't play him in his best position, usually that indicates he isn't versatile enough.

By playing him a few games in his natural positions makes that go away again.

Your Assman played him out as a DL because he probably is versatile + his pace is ideal on the wings.

With a little training I can see him playing as a Fullback or wide midfielder.

EDIT: But I would go for the right hand side seeing as he is right footed.

Grrr...he's playing on the right wing for England U19's when I'm trying to train him into an MC

Can the England U19's manager not see he's clearly not a winger?

Grrr...he's playing on the right wing for England U19's when I'm trying to train him into an MC

Can the England U19's manager not see he's clearly not a winger?

Often happens at international under-age level, some of the squads are crazy unbalanced.

Also if you do want to play him as a CB use the the Ball Playing defender option. With a big bruiser beside him that should work very well. Just remember to keep his creative freedom fairly toned down.

He's just turned 17 and signed professional terms. 3 year deal worth just £14,000.

If I have him for 3 years and he won't agree a new deal, I would get compo for him, but I don't know how the system works. I'm guessing not very much, so after this season, I'll either look to get him signed for another 3 years or sell him.

i'd mould that young lad into a midfielder not a defender

his work rate is good for 16

I had a quick look and you should get decentish compensation. Martin is getting up to £3m, and while Dickens' compensation isn't so generous it's still pretty good.

That being said a better contract next year will help.

He's my first choice defensive minded MC now. Performing well, not scored yet but that day will come in the not too distant future I'm sure.

Value is going up too. He's now £160K. Multiply that by 10 and we're getting towards acceptable fees.

The guy is a beast in midfield! So quick, will get to any ball and has a rocket of a shot on him too.

And to think I would have played him in defence had I not posted this!

Now, I've seen this asked a few times on here, but personally I always flick over it. 'A good youth prospect' I laugh to myself - 'as if that would ever happen to me'

No, my worries are normally having enough players to fill my squad or my keeper refusing to sign a new contract. Now however, a 16 year old youth player is attracting the attention of big clubs. Crystal Palace have tried to be cheeky already and offered £0, and were promptly told where to go, but I don't really want to sell him.

He may look pretty bang average to you, but I'm a struggling League 1 side. His value is £120,000 at the moment, but I've got him on a provisional professional contract for when he turns 17.

The question is really, is 16 too young for the physical nature of central defence in the football league? I fear if I don't play him, I'm going to be forced to sell him on the cheap, but I don't want his inexperience to cost us too many points. League 1 centre halves get more than League 2 centre halves, which is what he'll be if we aren't any better than the second half of last year.

I can accept that this is Stockport County - we are a selling club, and I don't expect him to be playing for us in 10 years time. I would however, like our fans to get at least a glimpse of our future premier league star before he is sold on - too many times in this club's history that hasn't happened.

Looks good, hope you get to keep him and make him worldclass, what skin is that btw?

Looks good, hope you get to keep him and make him worldclass, what skin is that btw?

Skin is Midas' Touch

Not sure he'll be world class, but a solid PL player in the future I have no doubt. Anyone who wants him will be needing to get their chequebook out though. They can expect a 50% sell on coming my way too