Roy Hodgson says he isn’t looking to block the transfer process for England squad members but has called on all 23 men, including Jamie Vardy, to focus on their EURO 2016 campaign now that they’ve arrived in France.
Vardy, the subject of a £20 million bid from Arsenal, is yet to decide whether he’ll leave Leicester and arrived in France with speculation about his future still making headlines back home.
For the Gunners to complete a deal before the tournament kicks-off on Friday, it looks as though they’ll have to ask the England set-up permission to put Vardy through a medical – a request that Hodgson says he’s within his rights to deny.
“We are not trying to block players’ futures or transfers but, as far as we are concerned, our ongoing theme is that England is England, your club is your club,” said Hodgson on arrival at his side’s training base in Chantilly. “While you are with England, we want you to stay focused on us.
“While you are with England, we want you to stay focused on us.
“Whether agents come to the hotel or not is a moot point. They will be talking to the players face to face, on the phone or via Skype or Facebook. Who the hell knows?
“But one thing this group of players know and have accepted is that when you are on England duty, you are on England duty. It is not a question of you sorting out your future, or diving off for medicals.
“We control all of that and you have to accept there is a good chance that if you say you want to go for a medical that we will say, “we are not allowing that and you better bring your people here.
“We can facilitate, we are not trying to block players’ futures or transfers but, as far as we are concerned, our ongoing theme is that England is England, your club is your club.
“While you are with England we want you to stay focused on us.”
It had looked like Arsenal were on the verge of a swift and clean deal for Vardy when news broke on Friday evening. It now appears this transfer ‘saga’ has a few more twists and turns before it reaches a conclusion.
Seems fair.
Just painful for us fans…
Well that’s a fucking surprise, innit?!
It’s in everyone’s interests that this deal is wrapped up as soon as possible
Despite having somewhat lukewarm feelings for my national team over the last few years, what with Terry, Cashley and the Spud Faced Nipper (amongst others) being horribly prominent, I actually would quite like them to do well in this tournament. I’m an Englishman, and they will always have my support. For their and Arsenal’s sake, I hope this gets wrapped up soon, one way or another. It has the potential to get tedious.
But the outfield is literally 50% sp*rs. As such, I hope they get humiliated to the point that they never set foot on a football pitch ever again.
Also, I’m Australian.
Fair enough-it is pretty much a term of each of our fine nations’ citizenships that we have to take the piss out of the other’s sports teams as much as is humanly possible, so I certainly don’t begrudge you that. As for the Sp*rs connection, I grant you that it’s a pain, but thanks in no small part to the last day of the season’s hysterics, I can’t hate Kane and company with as much passion as some of the previous wearers of the England shirt. They’re unquestionably cunts, but it’s all relative really. And as it most definitely happened… Read more »
This is the kind of response that you see too little of on social media. Could’ve easily replied with “F*CK OFF YOU CONVICT C*NT”. Kudos to you good sir.
Absolutely Savage
and I love it:)
Outstanding stuff. Fuck what the haters say – Arsenal has some of the best football fans on the entire planet, Australia included.
Not to worry it only delays the deal by a fortnight, when England don’t make it out of the group stages.
Arsenal fans on Twitter are hilarious. The level of panic because this deal hasn’t been settled yet is beyond parody. We activate the clause on Friday night, followed by two non-working days, then Vardy’s on a flight to France Monday morning and people are wondering why the deal isn’t sealed yet!
Like Andrew said on Arsecast Extra yesterday, this is in all likelihood too far down the line for it not to happen now. Chill, Gooners, chill.
Literally! There were people on Friday singing Vardy’s praises and then on Monday their tune has changed completely to some choice swear words. Don’t think they realise but there’s still a couple of months till we see any new signings actually playing for us! smh
Maybe some Arsenal fans are just worried about another potential Higuain/Suarez situation where the transfer ‘saga’ drags on too long, the move doesn’t happen and it messes up out summer plans.
Our history in recent transfer windows means some of us won’t settle until the dotted line is signed and the transfer confirmation is official.
I’m not overly worked up or anything. But there’s a fine line between ‘yeah no deal yet but come on, it’s gotta happen!’ and ‘it’s official – Vardy signs for Arsenal’
‘diving off for medicals.’
driving? or one for Vardy.
As in look at him go down in the penalty box, best let him have a medical. Medical – Pass – Signs on the dotted line – PL season starts and he bangs them in for shits and giggles. All 30 of them!
You were very confident Blogs that this would go through (not without fair reason) – but you went pretty balls out on this one.. do you feel less confident now or do you think still just something that will take time or could even be done already?
Well, from what I heard it was all but done. Something’s changed so I’m not as confident.
I’d still be majorly surprised if he decided to stay at Leicester rather than join Arsenal though.
For what he’s done at Leicester I’d be glad to see him repeat that with us but if not then it’s hardly the end of the world. There should be enough on par with or better strikers available to us so if he chooses to remain at Leicester then tough shit for him. His loss. I can take him or leave him personally.
Somehow I feel blogs copy-pasted some of Hodgson’s words for the banter but this is Hodgson after all.
Let’s hope I don’t set of the Arsenal Banjax Monster by saying I hope he doesn’t come back banjaxed. That would be so typical, wouldn’t it?
Anyone else getting nervous that he will decide to stay?
except when they’re injured for England , then its all down to the club. Fuck off Woy
Sanchez-Vardy-Iwobi
Ozil
Xhaka Wilshere
Sell Walcott gibbs ospina…
Rodriguez a cb and a winger and team pretty much sorted for next 3seasons
Vardy, Shmardy….do we really want a diving 29 year old chav at AFC?
Smash it and get Abamayang.
Yeah, that’s real likely to happen. By the way, I’ve got a bridge for sale, cheap. Would you like to buy it?
Much rather wait until after the Euros in case Vardy gets injured. If he does get injured, we should just look for another striker.
“While you are with England, we want you to stay focused on us.”
We get the message.
Hang on… did Woy say “While you are with England, we want you to stay focused on us” THREE times?!
Must be the heat…
He’s getting on a bit and he forgets things.
Oh yay. Now if Vardy has a crappy Euro, Arsenal will be the scapegoat. “He couldn’t concentrate on his game” blah blah blah….”Preoccupied/distracted” blah blah blah….sigh.
Who cares? If he has a crappy Euro, we can always tell him his wages are 100K instead of 120K.
This reminds me of an old story from the world cup in the US-94. Sweden was brilliant that year (yes, even Brolin, though you british lot never saw his full potential). Anyway, our striker Martin Dahlin refused to sign an already agreed contract with Everton because his first couple of games was really good. So he wanted a bigger salary etc. His transfer took ages. But our other striker, Kenneth Andersson, hated these drawnd out “sagas” and simply called a doctor to his hotel room to “bang on his knees for a couple of minutes” and then he signed the… Read more »
The partisanship of some is embarassing. The past few days most Arsenal fans have been proclaiming Vardy as a hero and downplaying his past disgraceful behaviour. That will change within a minute if he doesn’t sign. Hopefully the weasel faced cunt stays where he belongs.
Shell out whatever it takes to get Higuain, regardless of whether or not Vardy signs.
“But one thing this group of players know and have accepted is that when you are on England duty, you are on England duty. It is not a question of you sorting out your future, or diving off for medicals.”.
What Hodgson really means, is “National football, despite how shit England are, trumps club football. I can take the piss if I want to. Picking Wilshere after playing 80 minutes all season shows it.” Do you think the nothing that is Hodgson would do this to Ferguson? We’re being made to look chumps and it sickens me.
International setups getting more control over club business? That *never* happens.
I read that Roy said they could facilitate medicals in France for any “moving” players so they don’t need to fly off. I don’t think that should happen if we need them to focus on the tournament.
Yes, he’s contradicted himself there. Plonker.
He might not want to go to the first team that’s put in an offer for him, which seems reasonable enough. And if he has a decent Euros -or not-, then surely they’ll be other suitors.
When has wenger ever gone for a 29yr old anybody? Just Arsenal be f*king tight as per usual. I do actually hope it falls through. Lukaku please!