Is Gassan Ahadme worth a £1 million?
We ain’t spending a £1 million on anyone. You pay for potential, you pay for value, you pay for possibilities.
The whole cost of transfer of football players is so flawed these days and fees are made up of a myriad of things, but we ain’t paying a £1 million.
Sky Sports were running along their ticker on Wednesday that Charlton had agreed a fee of £1 million with Ipswich Town for 23-year old striker Gassan Ahadme, and that he has passed a medical.
Ahadme does have a lot of potential but he’s had a nomadic existence, which kind of suits a man who is Moroccan, although born in Spain. As a teenager he moved to England to play for Norwich City’s Academy, before making a switch to Burton Albion in January 2022 after a couple of short loan moves.
Ahadme first caught the eye at Burton which encouraged Kieran McKenna to sign him for Ipswich Town for £300,000. McKenna can pick a player.
Ipswich have been a steam train ever since then and Ahadme won’t be the only player that has been left on the station.
He went back to Burton on loan but didn’t feature heavily, The Tractor Boys then moved him to Cambridge on a season’s loan this last year where in a struggling team he scored 13 goals in 32 games, but did miss three months in the middle due to a stress fracture of the foot.
Before his injury he scored twice late including a 95th minute penalty against us at The Valley. I mean everyone scored a 95th minute goal against us in those days!
He bounced back in March and finished the season strong under Gary Monk as the U’s avoided relegation.
By all accounts he fits Jones profile of being powerful and full of running. He doesn’t look a 25 plus goal machine, but does sound an exciting prospect.
We’ll see if he signs and if it’s for a £1 million or undisclosed!
OFFICIAL: Ahadme signs a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
I seem to recall that we signed Conor Coventry for a million, and I believe that it turned out to be nothing up front, then a series of trigger payments/add on’s and a cut of any sell on. So as you say, transfer fees are never actually what they appear to be!
At least we are talking about us paying out transfer fees, as opposed to just picking up out of contract players from League Two, who we hope may step up a level(but rarely do!)…
If he helps us to a top 6 finish, then yes is the answer.
I am more enthused by Ahadme and Godden together than by May alone. It would be disappointing indeed if they cannot combine for 25 goals + next season.
In a short word …NO !!!….players values are highly inflated and its a case of the more we pay the more the future prices rise.
Fans are being fleeced by clubs and soon we will go the same way as Italian football did and fans will vote with their feet.
How many Charlton fans bought a season ticket for next season based on Alfie May being at the club ????…..oh dear !!!
Well my memory is quite strong for an old guy, and the Belgian years are still fresh, I watched ‘ Sunderland til I die’ and I must have been one of the few who took to Charlie Methven and when I heard he was coming to Charlton, I thought great, he makes things happen and once again we are paying money and attracting good players, so on a day of big change in other departments I think next season will be great,
Here we go again,one player does not make a team there are 11 players make a team not just one.
Agree John,
But losing a player of May’s a ability to a rival is not good for us….I know it’s a team game but Mays goal tally last season was a base for us to build on…..I fear we will suffer badly and hope I’m proved wrong.
When did we last buy a player for a disclosed, set fee? For around a decade it’s been “undisclosed” – that it has been leaked that the fee could rise to £1m is probably to sugar the pill of May’s departure for us fans.
I’m guessing that we paid around £300K for him (what Ipswich paid) and the rest will be in add-ons.
I doubt he’ll score 25 goals next season, but his goals/minute ratio last year was one every 207 minutes which isn’t bad.
At 6ft 3 he looks to be useful with his head as he should be at that altitude – which suggests that we are going to play a couple of wingers who can ping a few balls in, something that would benefit also Miles Leaburn. Perhaps the next players we sign will be wingers?
But that’s another of NJ’s targets in and we are still a month away from the season kicking off.
so many strikers. Is leaburn being sold?