Football
Vivek Chaudhary, ESPN.com writer 8y

Premier League clubs target action on 'out of control' player agents

Premier League clubs are to establish new regulations to curb agents targeting players as young as eight which they fear is making it harder to develop new talent and uncover another Wayne Rooney or Gareth Bale.

Football Association rules state that a player has to be aged 16 to sign with an agent but Southampton director of football and former FA director of football Les Reed told ESPN FC many are getting around them by forming relationships with their parents through financial and other inducements.

"The situation is getting out of control and we have to act," he said. "Agents are linking up with parents who then place huge pressure on their children; and we are talking about very young players who are just starting out at a club. For many parents having an agent has become like a fashion accessory."

Reed revealed that the agents-parents nexus was making the job of clubs to develop young players increasingly difficult.

He said: "Parents are becoming much harder to deal with. They argue with coaches when their sons are not being picked, challenge how the team is being run and even question tactics. And it's all because they are being egged on by agents who are turning their heads with money and how much their son could earn if he makes it to the first team."

Reed is also a former England under-15 coach who has worked with some of the brightest prospects in the game who went on to establish themselves at the top level, including Sol Campbell, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Southampton also have one of the most respected academies in British football having produced Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale in recent years.

He said: "We need to keep producing the likes of Bale and Rooney, to name just two but these predatory agents are having a negative impact on the national game."

Reed said that from discussions he has held so far, all 20 Premier League clubs support outlawing agents forming relationships with parents and also want to introduce other tougher regulations. These would then have to be adopted by the FA, the English game's governing body.

He claimed the problem has become particularly severe following changes introduced by FIFA last year which abolished the licensing of agents and replaced it with the concept of intermediaries and a less regulated system.

"Since these changes there are a lot more agents out there who are fighting over younger and younger players," he said. "It's absolute madness and it's become a free-for-all and we have to act to protect our young players."

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