[Albion] Marc Leonard - 16yr old from Hearts

[Papa Lazarou]

Do you think our loan manager just reads match reports or do you reckon they might watch the occasional game that Leonard plays?

That would be a very Crooksian approach

 

[Gabbiano]

He's 22 now and been with us since he was 16. Looks like Albion have made the decision and want to maximise his fee - given his contract runs out in 15 months. Albion have ( i think) 15 first team players on loan, and then the first team squad has about 30 players and then there are dozens more coming through the u21s and u18s and the younger ages.
The way that Albion model works is that pretty much all of those loanees - bar a handful - are never coming back. Its not a surprise, its more of a surprise when they're retained.

Here are the loanees. Doubt more than a couple , if that, will be in the first team squad next season. - Undav ? ,Sarmiento ?

Current Season Long Loans: Sima (Rangers), Scherpen (2025/Sturm Graz), Koslowski (2026/Vitesse Arnhem), Leonard (2025+ 1 yr/Northampton), Rushworth (Swansea),, Undav (2026/Stuttgart), Moran (2027/Blackburn), Alzate ( Standard Liege), Sarmiento (2027 + 1 year option/Ipswich), Ayari (2027/Blackburn), Beadle (2028/Sheff Weds), Mazilu (Vitesse Arnhem), Dahoud (2027./Stuttgart), Turns (2025+1 Crewe Alexandra), Samuels (Fleetwood Town)

Honestly? The most likely is Rushworth, but having said that I could just as easily see him sold to a top Champ/low PL side. Beadle seems to be the keeper we are betting more on and I would think he'll have one more season on loan.

Moran, Sarmiento and Ayari have had their chance to prove themselves in the Championship but haven't really.

Kozlowski and Mazilu aren't pulling up trees at the floundering Vitesse, I would expect them to come back for preseason then another loan.

The only one who is really making a case for first team is Undav, but he went back to Germany because he wanted to be there, rather than a development loan. I don't expect we'll see him again in a Brighton shirt.

Between Sima, Leonard, Undav, Scherpen and maybe a few others, we'll probably bring in £30m or so from sales of the loan army, plus some chunky sell ons. It's part of the model, but a bit of a slower season this time than previously.

 

[Lurchy]

If anything that's a bit disappointing - from the way he has flourished on loan I would have hoped for at least the Championship next season - but on loan, still with a view to a place at Brighton.
At the very least I would have hoped for him to have another pre-season here, before any final decision is made.

Unless the player wants a transfer and to settle at a club for a few seasons, rather than the prospect of having further loans.

Swansea have a long interest in him, and that would be a good move.

 

[Taybha]

Imo,Sarmiento is not a player I'd be inclined to let go, he's perfect for the last 30 minutes in games as in those 30 minutes he will literally runs himself ragged,I'm not sure he has ever started a game and finished it for us or Ipswich such is his desire to go full pelt for however long he lasts, it's a strange sort of self management that neither he or coaches seem to know how to make him a regular starter whilst conserving enough energy for 90 minutes,I like him and hopefully he will have done enough to be kept on the books.

 

[Stat Brother]

Shame but I guess we'll have lots of not quites whilst we're playing in the top 12 of English football and paying £30m for players.

Let's get the lad a decent club and send him off with our best wishes and if he turns out to be a megastar in 5 years, let's not go beating the club up about it.

...

 

[GT49er]

Who do you think is the most likely amongst the current crop ?

Apart from the two goalkeepers, I'd have had Leonard as one of the front runners TBH. Weir seemed to be heading in the right direction last season, but this season has been a disaster - and of course Moran was expected to be a much greater success than he has been.

Outside bet? - if Rangers can't afford him - Sima, to fill the not-very-good-footballer-but-scores a lot of goals role that Undav had towards the end of last season!

 

[AZ Gull]

Marc Leonard was named the Northampton Town Players' Player of the Season, and the Supporters' Player of the Season (with 80% of the vote) at the Cobblers' awards evening yesterday -

MARC LEONARD NAMED INTOWN AUTOMOTIVE PLAYER OF THE SEASON AT SUNDAY'S AWARDS DINNER​

 

[Mancgull]

As I’ve said previously in this thread I think that if we sell it will be with a big sell on clause and potentially even a buy back option.
Give him a chance with a decent Championship club.

 

[The Fits]

What a great season. Deserves a good move this summer if we truly think he isn't up to our level.

 

[brighton_tom]

We’d be silly to have made a decision on him going already, surely we take a proper look through pre-season.

 

[B-right-on]

Moran, Sarmiento and Ayari have had their chance to prove themselves in the Championship but haven't really.

That's disappointing. I thought (hoping) Sarmiento and Ayari would have good seasons and come back into the squad next season as they both showed glimpses of being very very good.

 

[JBizzle]

Imo,Sarmiento is not a player I'd be inclined to let go, he's perfect for the last 30 minutes in games as in those 30 minutes he will literally runs himself ragged,I'm not sure he has ever started a game and finished it for us or Ipswich such is his desire to go full pelt for however long he lasts, it's a strange sort of self management that neither he or coaches seem to know how to make him a regular starter whilst conserving enough energy for 90 minutes,I like him and hopefully he will have done enough to be kept on the books.

I had a quick scan after you said that, and he's only completed 90 mins once in his entire 80-game career (including international, PL2, FA CUP, Championship loans, League Cup etc). I don't know if it's injury related though. In his first two PL seasons, he had 35+ games out with knee and hamstring injuries. He's also still only 21, expectations for youngsters are sometime unrealistically high given the explosive nature of some of our talent.