The Alan Judge Saga: News, Speculation and Analysis
- essentialbrentford
- Jan 8, 2016
- 4 min read
Alan Judge has been in scintillating form this season.
The Irish midfielder has already notched ten goals this season, one more than £9m forward Andre Gray had scored at this point last campaign. Judge is currently fourth in the Championship top scorers charts, behind the aforementioned Gray and Ross McCormack. He is on the same number of goals as Charlie Austin, who was linked with a £15m move to Manchester United in the Summer.
According to Squawka, the Irish midfielder has created 59 chances and has seven assists to his name. Judge has completed 1053 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 85% (4% higher than Ballon D'or nominee Lionel Messi), of which 62% were forward passes. These numbers are simply incredible.
It is unsurprising that several clubs are monitoring Judge's progress, with scouts from Premier Clubs frequently attending Brentford matches to track "the Irish Messi". So far, Sheffield Wednesday are the only club to come in for an actual bid for the midfielder. Here's what has happened so far...
Monday, 4th January (5.14pm): CONFIRMED - Sheffield Wednesday submit offer in the region of £1m for Alan Judge. Brentford reject the offer, as it is nowhere near their evaluation of the player.
Tuesday, 5th January (6.17pm): RUMOUR - Sheffield Wednesday make a double bid for James Tarkowski and Alan Judge in the region of £7.5m.
Wednesday, 6th January (5.09pm): CONFIRMED - Sheffied Wednesday line up a second bid for Alan Judge. Several clubs continue to track the progress of the Irish midfielder.
Friday, 8th January (10.17pm): CONFIRMED - Brentford signal their intention to offer Alan Judge an improved contract in order to stave off transfer speculation and keep him at Griffin Park.
Many Bees fans have voiced their concern over the possibility of Judge leaving the club. However, there is really very little need to be worried. Firstly, it is actually very unlikely that Judge will be leaving at all. Secondly, if he does go, we can rest assured that it will be for a large sum that more than matches our valuation of the player.
Sheffield Wednesday are the most prominently placed club to secure Judge's services. The fact that they also happen to be our closest rivals for the final play-off spot (or final two play-off spots if Brighton continue their catastrophic run of form) means that we won't sell him unless it is for big cash.
Matthew Benham often talks about football not just in terms of goal, but in terms of chances created. Judge's goals are one thing, but the number of scoring opportunities he creates is a whole other part of his game. This means that he is probably valued even more highly by the club than us fans realise.
The club's stated intention to offer Judge a new contract shows our willingness to keep him. Of course every player has his price, but in the case of Alan Judge that price is very, very high. Additionally, the midfielder has still got eighteen months left on his contract. That's a long time in football. Brentford could be top of the Premier League by that point.
Having been with Brentford for such a long time, it seems unlikely that Judge would swap the stable life that he has here for a club with an equal chance of achieving promotion this season. The only reason for doing so would be if Wednesday were to offer a significantly larger wage package. Our intention to offer him an increase in his salary indicates that we our willing to match any offer that they might table.
The only worry would be if a Premier League club swoops for the Irishman. No Bees fan could begrudge him the chance to test his skills at the top level of English football. However, for the time being, it seems like the big boys are happy to sit back and monitor the player.
The only other scenario is that the talks between Brentford and Judge break down. If they cannot reach a settlement on his new wages then it could spell trouble. Negotiations with Harlee Dean and Jonathon Douglas have broken down in recent years,with the latter leaving the club and the former stating that he will exit at the end of the season. If Judge follows suit then it may pave the way for an exit out of Griffin Park.
The loss of Diagouraga would be saddening, but the loss of Judge would be tragic. Although Toumani's role in the way we play is vital, it wouldn't be too tricky to train another player to do his job. Finding a player with the technical ability, stamina and pure determination that Alan Judge has would be very difficult.
Clubs have a habit for drastically overspending on players in the transfer window - particularly in January. This time last year Andre Gray was being slated by many for his habit of missing sitters. There is a strong case to make that Brentford won the lottery in terms of the £6m plus add-ons that we picked up for him.
That is why if Judge does move on (which seems unlikely) Brentford will ultimately profit. Brentford fans should rest assured that the club is in good hands. There is little reason for Judge to swap London for Sheffield. He's already swapped blue and white for red and white in his career. Switching back would be the wrong choice.
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