Nine years in one academy ends with two lines on Instagram. That is how schoolboy registrations close when a scholarship is signed elsewhere.
Compensation arguments follow. If the clubs cannot agree a fee, a tribunal does it. The player has already chosen the next training ground.
England under-16s goals travel. So do brothers moving clubs in the same summer.
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Vincent Joseph has posted a farewell after nine years at Liverpool ahead of an expected move to Arsenal. The 16-year-old striker wrote: “After 9 unforgettable years, the time has come to say goodbye. Thank you for the memories, and for making my time here truly special.”
The Athletic reported last month that Arsenal had reached an agreement with him. The clubs are still talking about a compensation fee. If they cannot settle, the Professional Football Compensation Committee will decide, using age, playing record, time at Liverpool and the terms each side offered.
Joseph did not sign scholarship papers at Anfield when his schoolboy deal expired. He is expected to sign a two-year scholarship at Hale End, with the option of professional terms at 17, following the same path as Mylo Bernard from Crystal Palace.
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He scored eight goals in nine games for England Under-16s and has two under-18 appearances for Liverpool, with a small return of goals at that level. TeamTalk say he can represent England, Nigeria or Germany. He is the younger brother of Valentin Joseph, who left Blackburn for Brighton this summer.
Arsenal’s youth intake already includes Bernard, Axel Donczew, Habeeb Ogunneye, James Scanlon, Igor Tyjon and pre-contracts for Andria Bartishvili and Phoenix Blayney. Mishel Nduka went the other way, from Hale End to Manchester City.
This is not a first-team signing. It is another teenager added while the seniors play Ipswich in the cup. Joseph will start in the under-18s. Liverpool lose a boy they had from pre-academy age. Arsenal add a finisher who has already scored freely for England at under-16 level.
The goodbye is public. The fee is not. Until the clubs or the tribunal name a number, the story is the caption and the destination. Nine years at Kirkby, then north London.
Jurrien Timber and Ben White
Jurrien Timber and Ben White