Kieran Maguire: West Ham may lose out on ‘hidden gem’ after Government ban
Brexit may have helped West Ham against their opponents in Conference League on Thursday (18 August) – but it could also lead to them being unable to unearth the next “hidden gem” from Europe.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider after the Hammers’ 3-1 win over Danish side Viborg.
As relayed by The Sun on the eve of the Conference League play-off clash, Viborg were without Ibrahim Said and Alassana Jatta because of Brexit complications.
The Nigerian and Gambian were unable to obtain a visa to play in the match and were therefore effectively banned from entering the UK.
The UK formally left the European Union in January 2020.
Maguire assessed how the likes of West Ham have fared so far in the post-Brexit era.
“I think when you listen to chief executives, you realise that Brexit is a fait accompli,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“They have had to make workaround because they can’t recruit young players from Europe. There is a concern that they are losing 16 and 17-year-olds to other clubs. That is frustrating.
“The GBE rules do favour the bigger clubs in terms of links to the leagues in which the player is coming, his existing wages and so on.
“If you find another hidden gem, you can’t necessarily bring them to the UK. That tends to be more of an issue for the smaller clubs.
“If Brighton, for example, had found Moises Caicedo in Slovenia on £1000 per week, they might have struggled to bring him to the UK. So, it does create a barrier.”
In other news, pundit suggests Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio may be facing West Ham axe after £50m-plus development.