Rumour - Richards to Everton

[RFCMod]

Why loan him out when they have Bayern II playing in the German 3rd division
Easy to keep tabs on him on the training ground and on tap in case of injury
German clubs don't make too many gambles so they'll have a plan for him

[Hendo]

Why loan him out when they have Bayern II playing in the German 3rd division
Easy to keep tabs on him on the training ground and on tap in case of injury
German clubs don't make too many gambles so they'll have a plan for him

Because the German 3rd division is probably equivalent to L2 or Conference and they might want him playing at a higher level?

[skipper]

Reckon we could ask for a cheeky pre-season friendly as part of the deal?

[Linden Jones' Tash]

Reckon we could ask for a cheeky pre-season friendly as part of the deal?

Would be nice, but it's not a deal with the club, he's gonna be out of contract so Reading have no leverage.
Probably more likely to get something with Pauno's contacts

[Nameless]

Reckon we could ask for a cheeky pre-season friendly as part of the deal?

Would be nice, but it's not a deal with the club, he's gonna be out of contract so Reading have no leverage.
Probably more likely to get something with Pauno's contacts

I’d be up for a trip to Chicago !

[Stranded]

Why loan him out when they have Bayern II playing in the German 3rd division
Easy to keep tabs on him on the training ground and on tap in case of injury
German clubs don't make too many gambles so they'll have a plan for him

Because the German 3rd division is probably equivalent to L2 or Conference and they might want him playing at a higher level?

More L1 level I would say but your point stands. Bayern are investing in younger players at the moment, so he will be around the first team squad. Season starts with the 1st round of the cup, so he'll likely get some minutes there and be on the bench next season, in my view.

[SCIAG]

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense for Bayern to do this.
With the UK now a third country, young English talent will come at a premium to Premier League teams, so either Omar succeeds and is a star ala Jordan Sancho, or he struggles and is sold on to a middling Premier league club, like Palace for a decent fee, given his English passport.

That said, it takes more than talent and a whole lot of luck to make it, but he looks like he has the attributes

Good luck Omar

Anyone playing for Bayern will qualify for a work permit so not sure that logic quite holds up. Unless they’re worried that they’re not going to qualify for Europe in the near future.

[Orion1871]

Just read that Ex Munich technical director, Michael Reschke is the new head of European Football at ICMStellar, Richards agency.

Guess that's a big reason why he's off to Bayern.

[Lower West]

Likely to be another Lewis Baker. Still a Chelsea player now on his 8th loan spell.

[Stranded]

Likely to be another Lewis Baker. Still a Chelsea player now on his 8th loan spell.

I think Richards is a lot more talented than we realise. He has come on leaps and bounds this year defensively and going forward, you can see why he was seen more as a winger at Fulham before we converted him.

He is a quality player, who whilst in my mind not ready for the Bayern first team now, could be very, very quickly. He may even make a similar impact as Bellingham at Dortmund - he was not expected to be near the first team much this year but earned an early chance and has been either in the 11 or on the bench ever since.

[windermereROYAL]

Confirmed by the club that he is off to Bayern, the worse kept secret in football is out.

[yuomi]

Even though you know it's coming, it still doesn't sit right.

[Hendo]

Going to be great for his development, sure. But still think he'll be back in England in 3 years having made a handful of sub appearance for the first team in a few dead rubbers.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Going to be great for his development, sure. But still think he'll be back in England in 3 years having made a handful of sub appearance for the first team in a few dead rubbers.

Can't begrudge it. If you look at the ex-players thread, there's a bit of bitterness that Tshibola threw away his career just to move to Villa in the Championship.

But this is Bayern Munich. I don't know how any young player could pass up the opportunity, and he's proven himself enough that he can get a move to lower PL / Bundesliga team if it doesn't work out.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Going to be great for his development, sure. But still think he'll be back in England in 3 years having made a handful of sub appearance for the first team in a few dead rubbers.

I give it a year. Still a great move for him even if he doesn't play. Probably getting paid 10x more than he was here, and will have raised his profile. Expect even if he barely plays this season he'll probably still get the likes of Palace sniffing around him.

[RoyalBlue]

Going to be great for his development, sure. But still think he'll be back in England in 3 years having made a handful of sub appearance for the first team in a few dead rubbers.

Can't begrudge it. If you look at the ex-players thread, there's a bit of bitterness that Tshibola threw away his career just to move to Villa in the Championship.

But this is Bayern Munich. I don't know how any young player could pass up the opportunity, and he's proven himself enough that he can get a move to lower PL / Bundesliga team if it doesn't work out.

If it doesn't work out, I don't think there's any guarantee that he will get a move to a lower PL/Bundesliga team, as he won't have had the game time and exposure. His performances may have suffered too. So he may have to drop back down a level or so and rebuild his reputation.

[Pepe the Horseman]

I know squad numbers don't mean a lot these days, but seen he's been given the number 3 shirt. Fair play. Previously worn by the likes of Xabi Alonso, Franz Beckenbauer and my uncle, Udo Horsmann.

[Simon's Church]

Great move, if he can start their pre-season anything like he started this season I think he'll actually do well there, can see him comfortably getting 15-20 appearances a year

[paultheroyal]

Great teams has 2 great players in every position. What an opportunity for him. Davies gets injured or out of form, in he goes.... Good luck to him.

[PieEater]

It still grates that the club developed him through the academy, he turned down a contract and goes on a free with no compensation due because he's gone abroad. Freeloading Germans benefit from our youth development and Richards no doubt makes a mint as a signing on fee.

Added to the FFP constraints that mean we couldn't offer a better contract to keep him.