Earlier, we covered a positive Croatian slant on claims West Brom are offering €10m for Rijeka’s Filip Bradaric.
Now we’ve found a very negative slant on it. Very negative indeed.
Novilist seem to be treating the West Brom rumour with contempt and say that whilst the initial Italian claims were ‘somewhat sensational’ the information was ‘unchecked’.
The response said to be coming from Rijeka over the story is ‘laughter’ because they don’t believe he can get a work permit to play in England as it stands. In addition to that, they believe the player’s value will rise with more Croatia caps, so they could get more money for him in the summer.
So what are the chances of Bradaric getting a work permit?
Nationals from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) don’t need a work permit to work in England. Croatia joined the EU in 2013 but is currently only a provisional member of the EEA.
Therefore he needs a work permit to join West Brom.
To automatically get one through his international appearances, Bradaric would have had to appear in 45% of Croatia’s games over the past 24 months. The % is worked out based on the country’s ranking, and Croatia are currently 14th in the FIFA list.
The bad news for West Brom interest is Bradaric only made his debut in November and has just the one cap. He’s 24 years of age so doesn’t get special allowance for being U21.
West Brom would therefore have to appeal.
The following explanation is from the excellent Daniel Geey football law website and details the first appeals hurdle.
- The value of the transfer fee being paid for the player is in the top 25% of all transfers to Premier League clubs in the previous 2 windows – 3 points
- The value of the transfer fee being paid for the player is between the 50th and 75th% of all transfers to Premier League clubs in the previous 2 windows – 2 points
- The wages being paid to the player by the applicant club is in the top 25% of the top 30 earners at the club – 3 points
- The wages being paid to the player by the applicant club are between the 50th and 75th% of all the top 30 earners at the club – 2 points
- The player’s current club is in a Top League and the player has played in 30% or more of the available domestic league minutes – 1 point
- The player’s current club has played in the group stages or onwards of the Champions League, Europa League or the Copa Libertadores within the last 12 months and the player has played in 30% or more of the available domestic league minutes – 1 point
Bradaric would have to pick up 4 points. West Brom could nudge his points up with big wages, but that would seem a stretch. The midfielder may also pick up 2 points with his fee, with The Mirror reporting last year that the average Premier League transfer value is around £10m.
Croatia is not considered a ‘Top League’ and Rijeka failed to qualify for the Europa League for the past two seasons.
If Bradaric meets the 4 points, it gives West Brom a good chance, but even then it’s not certain.
Should West Brom not be able to get Bradaric to the 4 points then it’s not over, they can argue on another points system and get points for playing in the Europa League qualifiers, which the player has. They may also argue that the Croatia national team is especially strong in midfield, making it harder for Bradaric to get caps.
Novilist are wrong to say it’s impossible, perhaps they should have done the fact checking they criticised the Italian journalist over. It would be difficult, but one would have to assume West Brom would consider this before making an offer.
