Domingos Quina’s advisers and the Hammers are still deadlocked over the future of academy prospect with a long term deal still some way from being agreed.
The Hammers had hoped to have nailed down a four year deal with the teenager but ClaretandHugh understands the chances of him signing his first professional in the near future are bleak despite several weeks of talks.
We believe that ‘Team Quina’ is looking for a wage in the region of £25k a week which given he has yet to make a first team appearance looks too high by some distance.
The Portugal Under-20 international is potentially one of the Premier League’s most exciting young prospects but with the Hammers currently involved in a relegation scrap he is unlikely to get a first team chance.
Liverpool are watching negotiations carefully and could move in with an offer which given the value his advisers put on him would need to be in the region of £10 million.
This stalling on signing Quina is typical of the malaise which stops us from progressing to the more lofty heights.
There is no question concerning Quinas’s brilliance. If the ‘Brothers’ don’t get on with the business, then we will long lament missing out on him. Whatever it costs, you just pay, otherwise he will be gone. Players like this make a huge difference, and they don’t come this good every day.
At 18, Quinas could easily surpass Lanzini or Payet within a few years.
Domingos Quina.2
Having watched Manu Lanzini play such a creative role in our 3-0 away win against Stoke yesterday, it made me re-think my ideas about Domingos Quina, and whether we should sell him in January.
Like Lanzini, Quina is short in stature, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the greatest players of all time have been short in stature, which can be an asset in terms of low center of gravity.
I’d like to see how he develops physically; could he bulk up in his supper body, to enhance his dribbling prowess. He has 4-6 years before he approaches his physical maturity; I expect that he will become 10-15% faster with the right sort of athletic coaching.
This season, West Ham has an exceptionally talented Academy squad. I can understand that David Moyes main priority is to stabilize the first team, so he can’t be too flamboyant in nurturing our young players. If we can stay in the EPL, Quina will be less inclined to move compared to a situation where we were relegated (understandable).
Over the next 6 months or so, I’d like to see if he can improve his shot power, although he knows how to place the ball well.
If ‘team Quina’ are trying to encourage a possible move for the youngster, then we should slap an enormous transfer fee (~20 million quid!!) to discourage him from leaving.
There is something in Quina which reminds me of the great Brazilian right winger, Garrincha, who played with Pele in the ’50’s and ’60’s and is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time-hence my desire to see him in ‘caret and blue’.
Max – Too often we bandy around terms such as undoubted talent and potential when considering kids such as Quina. The cold facts here are he is 18 now, has not broken into the first team squad and so there have to be some doubts. That said, if he is asking for £25k a week, or £1.4m a year, we have to consider the financial implications of any decision we make. Should we agree, an invest £4m over a three year deal, what might our return be if we are wrong? Answer – We will probably get our money back, there or there abouts anyway. And if he turns out to be another Lanzini, then we will most likely get 5 times that. So for me, the risk is fairly minimal. However, and there is always an however, concede to Quina’s demands and you set the bar for all those who follow, and as we all know, the odds of them all making it to the top are zero. So, like the Spuds do, we have to carefully weigh up the impacts of any decisions we make with regards to wage structures and paying anyone £25k a week before they are near to breaking into the first team is simply not a sustainable policy for a club like ours. Therefore, if Quina isn’t likely to settle for a reasonable contract, it is bye bye.