The news had the effect of a bomb, at the stroke of noon: Luis Binks, the young Impact defender, has been transferred from Montreal to Bologna – but he will remain on loan with the Bleu-Blanc-Noir until ‘at the end of December.
A bomb? Yes, because even having just played eight official games with the Impact, the 18-year-old Englishman has managed to win unanimous support from the fans.
His recruitment (he was snatched from Tottenham) had become the symbol of the Impact’s new sports project and the capacities of its sports director, Olivier Renard.
His transfer, ironically, is also a symbol of this project … Because the Impact now aims to make “hits”, to recruit well and to sell well. Obviously, that’s the case with Binks, as just six months after his arrival he became the first player Montreal sold to its sister club, Bologna. The owner of both clubs, Joey Saputo, must be happy! And Walter Sabatini, the global sporting director, is handling his boat well – it would have been crazy to miss Binks …
But has the defender really sold well? Could the Impact have made more money by selling it to another club, or even by waiting a few months before transferring it? Does this movement not benefit Bologna much more than Montreal, which will find itself weakened and deprived of one of its best elements? This transfer raises many questions …
But on the Impact side, we consider that we have all the cards in hand. On the one hand, because the player, even transferred, may not be leaving anytime soon.
Indeed, joining Bologna during the winter transfer window, when the workforce is already in place and the team is in the season, is not easy. If Binks joins Italy to wax the bench of Bologna, that does not help anyone.
This is only my opinion, but I would bet that the Englishman will remain on loan with Montreal at least until June 2021. It will be easier for him to make his way and claim minutes of play in Serie A if he starts the following season with Bologna.
Saputo will compensate
Let’s say I’m wrong and Binks is coming to Italy in December. In this case, sources tell me that Saputo should compensate for this loss in the Montreal workforce. Especially since Bologna will have acquired at a lower cost a promising left-handed central defender (a type of player very sought after on the market), rather than spending millions of euros on transfer to the European market … In short, thank you. Impact!
One thing is certain: the market value of a “Serie A player Binks” is much higher than the value of an “MLS player Binks”. This data is not negligible.
Because, according to the same sources, if the Bolognese adventure turns out well for the Englishman and a transfer elsewhere is subsequently signed, Saputo will reallocate part of the money to the Impact’s transfer budget. It is not a percentage on resale itself, but the principle is roughly the same.
One way to keep the money in the family, and to allow the Impact to have access to a financial windfall that it would never have touched if the Montreal club had sold Binks today to another club.
Because this is a truth: the odds of players are (to a certain extent) relative to the results, to the importance of a club. And the Impact’s odds, and therefore by extension of an Impact player, are not optimal at the moment.
Dream or reality
Small interesting detail: When selling an MLS player, the selling club can only use a maximum of $ 1 million of the transfer money – general allowance money (GAM) – to improve the club. When it comes to a transfer to a sister club, this rule does not even really hold anymore, in order to avoid small arrangements.
The Impact’s ultimate goal, in this operation, is more to hit a jackpot on a subsequent transfer of Binks, which could then be reused for the acquisition of designated players.
This is all well and good, but will it happen? Or are they beautiful promises? The idea behind Binks’ transfer is an interesting one, but many will wait and see before believing it. Confidence is won … It is up to the Impact to win that of the fans!
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