Howe: Agents a necessity

Eddie Howe believes agents are a ‘necessity’ in the modern transfer market

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe believes agents are a “necessity” in the modern transfer market and says the majority are a force for good in a player’s career and life.

Figures released on Thursday showed that Premier League clubs spent a combined £261m on agent fees over the 2018 summer and 2019 winter transfer windows, with Bournemouth paying intermediaries £10.3m over that period.

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Howe accepts that it is a lot of money for clubs to be spending but says it is a necessity in the modern game.

Dominic Solanke joined Bournemouth in January

“I think football agents, whatever their terminology, are a big part of the game and I don’t see that changing in the short term,” he said.

“So, although you could say it’s going out of the game, I think it’s a necessity if a football club wants to sign players.

“You show me a Premier League club that wants to sign players or has to sign players that doesn’t pay agents. That doesn’t happen. If you want to sign players you have to pay agents.”

Liverpool topped the Premier League table for fees paid to agents

Howe also believes many agents strive to do the best by their clients and play an important role in their careers, on and off the pitch.

“There are some brilliant people involved in football and the football agency world, some great people that do a really good job for their players and make their players’ lives better off the pitch,” he added.

“They guide them financially, they help them mentally and, in turn, help the players play better on the pitch so they get a lot of bad press but not often the good is talked about.”

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Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe says impending work on a new multi-million-pound training complex has been a huge lift for the club.

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe says impending work on a new multi-million-pound training complex has been a huge lift for the club.

He added: “Sometimes a player and an agent can have a relationship over a long, long period of time, 20-30 years, and long after the player’s retired they’re still working together so there are some really good stories as well.

“But, of course, there are some stories the other way where things don’t potentially work so well and a lot of money goes out of the game.

Chris Mepham also moved to Bournemouth in January

“But I don’t see it changing and players will want good representation and they want people to look after their careers so it is something that goes hand-in-hand.

“I’ve got some very strong friendships with people that I’ve known now for a long time. The majority of people that I see that are working with players, especially the elite players now that I’m working with, are good people, otherwise they wouldn’t have the players attached to their books.”

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