70m for Jan Paul van Hecke seems ridiculous but Iâm not sure it is.
An under-discussed theme in the Premier League is that center backs own the responsibility of progression more so than in any other league.
This was the case for RDZ at Brighton: three CBs in the leagueâs top 20 for Share of Teamâs Progression in both seasons.
Non-scientific evidence of this trend beyond De Zerbi being that there are only three PL midfielders in the top 20 for team share of progression in T5 leagues, but eight CBs.
Having Senesi + van Hecke is a build up and squad building cheat code, plus itâs also an advantage to have two of the best three or four prime-aged progressive CBs in Europe, because it means your rivals canât.
Also means midfield recruitment can be less rigid⊠the type of player to be brought in (if any) can have a wider range of skills.
This does requires an understanding that transfer fees are just simply more expensive now. The old saying ârun into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole; run into assholes all day, youâre probably the assholeâ applies in a funny way: ârepeatedly keep being shocked by quoted transfer fees, maybe itâs you that needs to recalibrateâ.
There are of course reasons to not like this, Iâm not saying itâs perfect: heâs not super mobile, his contract expires in a year (unless thereâs back channel knowledge by all parties that an agreement here is eminent); but on the whole, one of the best CBs in the league in his prime⊠this profile will never ever ever be cheap.