Dylan Duffy Sale: Our View

Credit Graham Burrell

Yesterday, Dylan Duffy made his loan move to Chesterfield permanent, something a handful of supporters may have found surprising.

It felt like Chesterfield had seen him for one game and decided they wanted him, and that we’d said it was great for him to get games and come back like it was some sort of hollow promise. Neither feels true, and I’ll explain why.

Credit Graham Burrell

Firstly, let’s look at the comments made by Jez George after the sale was completed.

“This agreement makes sense for everyone. Chesterfield are really keen on Dylan and play in a way that really suits him. At 22 years old, Dylan also needs to play regularly and they will provide him with this opportunity. Finally, the financial structure of the deal makes sense for us in that we have agreed a significant guaranteed fee and a very significant sell-on. That is our model, so this is a win/win. We wish Dylan every success, we will monitor his progress and he will always be welcome at the Elite Performance Centre and LNER Stadium.”

There are a few little hints as to what the deal might look like. Firstly, there are the words ‘significant fee’. My understanding is the initial fee could almost touch the six-figure mark, which is a huge sum for a League Two club to pay for a young player with only a handful of appearances. The ‘very significant’ sell-on means we’re not looking at 10% or 15% either – my guess is we could be looking at closer to 30%. Remember, they just sold James Berry to Wycombe for a big fee, so we’ve protected our interests.

Credit Graham Burrell

Was selling Dylan the plan all along? My gut says no. Chesterfield are throwing money at their side, and I’m led to believe Paul Cook is among the top five or six earning managers in League Two and League One. They’ve sneaked under the radar with Stockport and Wrexham grabbing the National League promotion headlines, but the Spireites want to emulate them, and there’s no expense being spared.

Why not buy Dylan in the first place? Well, I wonder if they’ve realised they want another loan player, but knowing they’re at the limit, they decided to throw a bit of money at the one they feel was both attainable, and worth the investment. They have a host of players on loan and may feel they need one more. That would force them into the move, and Dylan is a good investment.

Credit Graham Burrell

The deal looks good for us; it makes sense for them, but the one aspect of any deal people forget is the player. Dylan is so highly regarded at the club that this decision cannot have come easily, and I understand there was a huge amount of consternation and debate as to whether we sanctioned it or not. The anecdotal evidence of Dylan’s character is enough to show he was Lasse Sorensen’s level of approachable personality who exuded happiness and excitement every morning he went into training. It wouldn’t be easy to balance that with the footballing decision, but that’s what Jez, Liam and the rest of the team get paid to do.

I wanted to end not on Dylan’s skills as a player or where he might go from here but on an email I was sent this morning. I think it shows the quality of character Chesterfield has just signed, and it sums up Dylan Duffy far better than I could try to.

Credit Graham Burrell

All that remains, before you read the words below, is to wish Dylan all the best with Chesterfield until he faces off against us!

We sponsor Dylan and have sponsored players for many years. It’s very rare that a player cares or understands. Ben (House) does but Dylan genuinely felt honoured that someone would put their hands in their pocket and sponsor a player.

Since we met at the sponsor/player event we have been in touch a few times. He helped me with my 1111 miles challenge last year. He showed a real interest and together with Ben they ran the last leg with me. He also sponsored me and put my charity card in every locker.

He sent my Daughter birthday wishes every year (twice!) He would notice us in-between thousands of fans and wave and he always had time for a chat with anyone.

credit Graham Burrell

He once asked me if I was a fan that wouldn’t speak to anyone after a game we lost. I said yes and he said, Ok, if I see you I’ll approach carefully and hopefully you will say hello. He meant it

You and I both know that some get it and some don’t. It’s rare for a player to really understand what being a fan is. Most fans make judgement by seeing a player for twenty minutes on a pitch and a very small percentage then take to Social Media to criticise them.

I can’t believe I’m mourning a player that didn’t play much. He will do well and he is a top, top lad who deserves success. Some fans like to throw stones and almost none of them know the person they are throwing stones at.