A friend of mines son has just signed his scholarship at Saints so I hear little bits about how it all works.
The tapping up of these young lads happens all the time at this age as they can all move clubs now with very little their clubs can do about it apart from a development fee.
The parents are also offered various inducements to move their boys to other clubs.
I thought this was not allowed however it appears to be relatively common. It must be difficult to police and prove but I’m sure most clubs operate in the same way.
Saints will lose boys and gain them as has happened in previous years.
The parents have a huge role to play, they need to try and see the bigger picture for their boys and that staying at Saints means they have a great chance of playing first team football sooner rather than later. However this is counteracted by the £££ on offer by other clubs.
Its a tough choice for the boys and their parents. Short term riches or long term gain !
There would be swelling though with something like an ACL, no swelling according to Ralph. I ruptured my Achilles a few years back, no swelling, walked off the pitch but the damage was done. Fingers crossed it’s just a sprain.