Brad Young
Brad Young (Image: Getty Images)
Aston Villa academy product Brad Young is at the centre of an ongoing case involving his former club The New Saints and current employers Al-Orobah FC, in the former have claimed that the latter are yet to pay the fee agreed when the two clubs concluded his summer transfer.
Ex-Villan Young moved to Saudi at the beginning of the season in a life-changing move having excelled in Wales' top tier; last season Young scored 29 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions to help TNS win the Cymru Premier and the League Cup, as well as securing the Golden Boot and the division's young player of the season awards in the process.
That form, which helped TNS earn Conference League football for this season - they played the likes of Fiorentina and Panathanaikos in the group stages of the competition which Villa partook in last year - attracted interest from the Saudi Pro League.
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Al-Orobah, who acquired Kurt Zouma from West Ham last summer and also signed Johan Berg Gudmundsson from Burnley, Jean Michel Seri from Hull City and former Newcastle United midfielder Vurnon Anita, supposedly agreed a record fee for the Welsh league to snare Young.
It transpires, though, that TNS never received the money, Al-Orobah weren't forthcoming and, despite numerous attempts to extract the monies owed from the buying club, TNS have been forced to take the situation further - and to global governing body FIFA, who have imposed a transfer ban on the Saudi side.
Al-Orobah were due to pay $150K and, when TNS didn't receive the first instalment, the former were told to pay up as well as 5% in interest. The Welsh outfit remain out of pocket and have released a hard-hitting statement to address the situation.
“We thank FIFA for their continued work to ensure that Al-Orobah FC meet their contractual obligations," TNS chairman Mike Harris' statement read. “As a club, we will continue to explore all avenues to make sure the transfer fee we are rightly owed is received."
Young, who is still only 22 now, made up a part of the Villa side with Louie Barry and Carney Chukwuemeka which won the FA Youth Cup in 2021. Prior to beating Liverpool in the final at Villa Park, he and many of the other under 18s had played - and in doing so made their senior debuts - against the Reds' first team in the FA Cup after a Coronavirus outbreak in the Villa first-team ruled them out of playing.
A loan move to Carlisle United followed, where he scored a couple of goals in the EFL Trophy and against non-league Horsham in the FA Cup. Young, a year later, joined Ayr United north of the border and he scored a couple of goals in the Scottish Championship in 11 league appearances. He was released in 2023 and joined TNS after a trial at Exeter City.
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