Big Money Trading
Grilled Birds engaged in a mind-boggling S$18 million worth of transfers on this day alone, more than four times the amount that changed hands on any previous occasion. Grilled's board were at pains to point out that the transfers balanced each other out close to exactly on paper, so that Grilled's undisclosed strategic reserves, held for the irresistable player who might just come along, were virtually untouched. Reporters on the ground observed that fans were at best indifferent at Bakunin's latest dip in the market, which saw fan favourite
Daniel Tellskär and current top scorer
Wilson Kearney say their goodbyes and unknown quantity
Ola Martinsson join the club.
The club's financers arranged the deal package to fall on a single day, such that Dala-Fram 88 of Norway's Division Four contributed about S$6 million for Tellskär and Mikkeo's Marauders of Canada S$3 million for the American Kearney, less agents' fees. Both players coincidentally will move to countries neighbouring their motherlands, which should be a plus factor.
Tellskär, on whom so much of the credit for Grilled's championship campaign can be placed, was not at all eager to depart and spent an hour with his entourage of fans, some visibly in tears. Kearney on the other hand took it in his stride, even if it meant he would not be able to build on his first Golden Boot. "When you've run through four clubs, going to a fifth isn't hard. I had a heck of a time here, no questioning that. Had I been a few years younger, I would have begged to stay."
Incoming in their stead was a 21 year-old ball player named
Ola Martinsson, whose name has been built on three things - his dribbling skills, his scoring record and his deadliness from set pieces. Martinsson had learnt the game the hard way, coming through the youth system of the now disbanded Swede club AS LIE and then spending time in a succession of Scandinavian teams.
He earned his big break at the sadly also defunct Rovers FC, where he matured into the complete article. Vigrestad IK then bought his services for S$7 million, where he further developed. With 55 goals under his belt and twelve in the Norge Cup this season alone, Bakunin was impressed enough to make a sneak bid for S$9 million when Vigrestad IK put him up for transfer.
"The price was steep, but at these levels there aren't that many players to pick and choose from. Martinsson happened to have a unique combination of skills which complemented our current team, and that by itself would make him worth a couple million more than usual." Bakunin explained. The player himself did not make an appearance, and it will be interesting to see how his reputed selfishness and the likelihood of him taking over dead ball responsibilities will go down with Grilled's old golden boy
Ulf Hjortlind.
Youth player Rashid bin Mohammed Noor followed defender Xing Hua to Budak-Budak Lepak on a pittance on this day too, but considering the circumstances Rashid must have been content to be little more than a footnote in the day's news.
