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Blues Rebuff Second Palace Downes Bid
Friday, 28th Aug 2020 12:38

Town are reported to have turned down a second offer from Premier League Crystal Palace for midfielder Flynn Downes.

In July, TWTD revealed that Crystal Palace were keen on the 21-year-old with sporting director Dougie Freedman having been at Town’s game at Blackpool at the end of February as the Selhurst Park club continued an ongoing watching brief.

As previously reported, the Eagles made an earlier bid for the academy product, understood to have been just north of £1 million and now, according to the EADT, the South Londoners have come back with a second offer of £2 million, which again has been rebuffed.

Although the Blues were previously reported to have put a valuation of £4 million on the England U20 international, who was TWTD readers’ Player of the Year for 2019/20, it’s likely Town would want an overall deal, including clauses such as appearance milestones, worth significantly more than that if they were to sell. An offer of £2 million is unlikely to have been given much consideration.

Owner Marcus Evans is understood to have no plans to offload any of the club’s prized assets this summer, despite the financial implications of the coronavirus crisis.

Asked earlier this week whether he would be a Town player this season, Downes responded: “Hopefully, obviously we’ll see. You can never say for sure, but hopefully I will be.”

Quizzed on whether he was aware of any interest, he added: “I’ve heard little bits and bobs but I’m just focusing on the football, that’s all I can say really, I’m focusing on the football and everything else will be taken care of. That’s sort of it.”

West Ham, who Downes supports and who he faced in a friendly at Portman Road on Tuesday, also made their interest known to Town in January, while Fulham are among the other clubs to have been keeping tabs on the Brentwood-born schemer. Reports of interest from Arsenal are understood to be wide of the mark.


Photo: Matchday Images



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SaigonTractor added 12:42 - Aug 28
The sad reality is that we can't command a substantial fee for a player in a team that finished 11th in League One, no matter how good Downes is.

-8

JDAndCoke added 12:52 - Aug 28
Agreed Saigon but it sounds like Flynn isn't pushing to leave either. Surely this means we hold on to him
1

ArnieM added 12:56 - Aug 28
We maybe can't command a top fee ( not sure why, just because we are currently in league one , it doesn't mean Downes is league one standard, coz clearly he isn't !!). Big neither are we forced to sell the player either . So jog on Palarse.
6

Coco added 12:56 - Aug 28
ONE and TWO MILLION!? Poxy Crystal Palace too! How we have fallen. Let's not forget the fees Posh have been demanding and getting for years!
4

prebbs007 added 12:56 - Aug 28
Unfortunately our disgraceful owner will take the money when it gets to his price and put it all straight into his back pocket as he has always done. We will lose the player for much less than he's worth at the end of the window and won't have time to replace him. Same happened with Murphy, Waghorn & Garner in last few years. Evans has zero ambition ITFC is just a little play thing amongst his business empire used to lower his tax obligations and we are doomed while he owns the club.
-13

SaigonTractor added 12:56 - Aug 28
While he's not pushing as such, I'm sure he'd like a move to the Premier League if possible, rather than another season under Lambert in League One.
1

LondonBlue73 added 12:59 - Aug 28
The club have been firm in the past if valuations not met (McGoldrick) and it appears that they are looking at nearer £8million - there is no sad reality unless we accept a low bid. At this point you have a premiere league club trying their luck and we have said no. Therefore applaud the club, pray we keep him or they cough up £8 mill.
17

searsstreetldn added 12:59 - Aug 28
We absolutely CAN command whatever fee we want for Downes. Our finish last season doesn't affect his value. It's the value of the player that counts not the team he plays in. We've been too soft with our attitude to selling players on especially when it's a premier league club coming i for a player. Palace are being cheeky with those bids. The salary cap may well be a blessing in respect of ME not selling our prized assets as we wouldn't be able to reinvest meaningfully any of the money raised. Of course he may well want to sell for his own coffers but I think he'd be more inclined to do that once we were back in the championship.
11

arc added 13:16 - Aug 28
When I saw the headline, I came up with a sarcastically low number in my head. This is lower.
0

runaround added 13:19 - Aug 28
Would be pointless selling Downes as, under the stupid salary cap, even if we sold him for ridiculous money, we won't have the scope to pay the wages of any replacements unless they are under 21
4

budgieplucker added 13:32 - Aug 28
With the current state of play with the salary cap he is probably worth more to us then what Palace are prepared to pay. He gives us what hardly anyone else in the team gives us and that is consistency. He completely changed the dynamics of the game for us against Spurs in the second half on Saturday, having looked a team at least two leagues below them we then started to wrestle some control from them in the midfield (and that was before they brought on several youngsters).

I have no doubts that Flynn is probably the only player in our squad who could immediately hold down a place in a premiership team. If I have a Rolls Royce which I own parked in my semi detached drive it is still a Rolls Royce and not devalued purely by where I keep it.

Silly money or nothing.
8

smithy0981 added 13:39 - Aug 28
£2m is insulting. Even £4m is stupid money for downes in this current climate but unfortunately he will be gone before the season starts. What ever Evans day, £4m and he will be gone. Good luck to him
2

ArnieM added 13:47 - Aug 28
These derisory offers by a Premier League Club illustrates all that's wrong in the game . The greedy bastards sit on MILLIONS of £'s and yet don't have the decency to offer a fair price for a player . They just work on the assumption that Clubs outside of the “ Mecca” that the PL I'd supposed to be will jump at their offer and “ be grateful “

Well f luck off.
9

Len_Brennan added 13:50 - Aug 28
Ivan Toney is going to a Championship side for £10m, so I think the market is robust enough at the upper level. Flynn Downes has already shown his capabilities at Championship level, so it's not like he's a kid coming from nowhere who has potential. He is far too valuable to us, particularly with the salary cap & lack of a suitable replacement.
If West Ham sold Declan Rice & came in from Flynn with a £5m+ deal; I could understand & accept it, given that he is a fan etc, any other circumstances of a less than £6m offer would be madness for us to accept.
8

BlueSwede added 14:06 - Aug 28
Was just about to write that Len. £10m to the Championship for Toney should mean more than that for a box-to-box midfielder who is three years younger. Especially as Downs is under contract two more seasong plus an optionyear.
3

Northstandveteran added 14:20 - Aug 28
The reality is that palace could pay him ten times the wage Ipswich currently do.

I'm sure every poster on this forum would move to different employers should they be given the opportunity.
3

midastouch added 14:54 - Aug 28
£2 million is an absolutely pathetic offer. As I said before, Palace should change their logo from an eagle to a vulture!
2

Cakeman added 14:57 - Aug 28
ArnieM, very well said. You have summed up what's wrong with our professional game concisely.
1

blues1 added 15:12 - Aug 28
Prebbs. Think you should change the R to an L. Not a single penny from any transfer deal goes into Evan's back pocket. It all goes into the club. If it went into his back pocket, which is impossible, as every penny has to be accounted for in the yearly accounts, we wouldnt have the size of debt we have.
0

Bluearmy_81 added 15:58 - Aug 28
Feel for you Prebbs. Town fans have endless patience with Evans when any other fans would have (virtually) lynched him by now! It's part of being a football fan to stand up for your club and demand better when it is being so poorly run. Town fans are dismally lacking in this regard, it borders on negligence, happy clappers/Evans apologists should be utterly ashamed...
1

Phil1969 added 16:19 - Aug 28
It doesn't matter if he is worth £1 or £50m we can't replace him on the salary cap principle so having additional cash flow is pointless unless you bank it!
Best we keep him sell next you after promotion lol
1

therein61 added 17:16 - Aug 28
So Marcus will not sell any prized assets hope that's right but we do need to thin out the squad a bit to give room for a couple of additions trouble with that is we are carrying to much dead wood(that we pay extremely well) that no other clubs want.
2

BrazilItAint added 17:59 - Aug 28
Palace have just paid 19.5 million for Eze from QPR who plays in the same England U21 side as Downes, so surely he is worth at least £5 million? Just shows as previous posters that there is very little value in League 1 players
0

BrazilItAint added 18:48 - Aug 28
Palace have just paid 19.5 million for Eze from QPR who plays in the same England U21 side as Downes, so surely he is worth at least £5 million? Just shows as previous posters that there is very little value in League 1 players
0

budgieplucker added 18:52 - Aug 28
@braIlitaint understand what you say and the sort of values championship clubs have been picking up Div 1 players, however, going back to my earlier point is he premiership ready? My view is yes and therefore he should have a Priemership value, otherwise we get promoted this year and ask £20 million for him next year based on the Eze example above and probably make an extra £10 or 12 million out of the deal
1


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