Robbie Savage makes Hearts transfer fee claim as he opts against 'selfish' decision over latest Jambos recruit
Robbie Savage has opened up on how Hearts pulled off their latest transfer deal.
Forest Green Rovers manager Robbie Savage claims Hearts’ deal for Laurent Mendy could cost close to £1m - as he insists on refusing to stand in the midfielder’s way.
The 29-year-old has signed for the Jambos after impressing under the ex-Wales and Leicester City star at English lower league level with Macclesfield Town and Rovers. He is unavailable for Tuesday’s Champions League second round qualifier second leg versus Sturm Graz but could come into head coach Wouter Vrancken’s reckoning for the Premiership opener at Aberdeen this Saturday.
Savage claims the deal is an excellent one for his club in the National League, as the finances of it could extend close to seven figures, if all the targets are met. He also feels it has set a benchmark for what can be achieved with Forest Green Rovers after not wanting to stand in the way of a life-changing move for the new Hearts recruit.
Robbie Savage on Hearts transfer deal for Laurent Mendy
The Rovers boss told club media: ”Brilliant deal for the football club. There was interest in January but it didn't meet the valuation. Conversations then with Mendy were keep performing, keep playing to the best of your ability and you never know, in the summer they might be back in. They've certainly done that. Met the valuation on this occasion, which if all targets are met, will be close on £1m and for a 29-year-old that's an incredible bit of business for the football club.
“As I've said as a manager, I don't want to stand in anybody's way of progressing, in which they believe is the next step of their career. For any player who comes to Forest Green, there's the benchmark. At 29 years of age, Mendy might have thought an opportunity like this is gone. If the club has a valuation met, which every player has a valuation, then the best interest of everybody is that Mendy's gone to Hearts.
“What a brilliant opportunity for him. All the hard work, the sacrifices, the dedication he's shown, his performances here. The first year as a full-time footballer, now he's got a move to Hearts, I think they're in Champions League qualification. So listen, great deal for the football club, great bit of business and Mendy now has an opportunity to fulfil a dream.”
Could Robbie Savage have kept Laurent Mendy?
“Football, at times, is such a roller-coaster. There's ups and downs and there's highs and lows. Inevitably, football can be ruthless, and at times you have to do things for the benefit of the football club. At the time, in January, we thought the best thing was to keep Mendy at the football club. Of course, his head would have been turned, we know that.
“Then it's how you react. It happened to me as a player. Where my players are quite lucky is that they've got a manager who performed at the highest level for a number of years and understands being a player. I can help, and I can educate, and I can talk about my experiences. As a manager, it's different now. It was inevitably, as manager, my decision to say that Mendy could go to Hearts. I could have easily kept him here. I think that would have been selfish with the opportunity he had and he wanted. I think we've all come out of it really positively.”