Originally Posted by
the other bob wilson
Category one Academy clubs are free to take players off teams lower down the ladder for much lower fees than previously in the way that Man City did with Rabbi Matondo, but although Hull are in the Premier League, they're a category two Academy club like us, so I don't believe they could act in the way you describe.
I may be wrong, but my feeling is that Scott Coughlan is one of those Under 18 team regulars from before Christmas who have been told they are free to try and find another club. I can't say for certain that Coughlan has not played since Christmas, but George Ratcliffe has become the number one keeper in 2017 and, although I'm not saying that he is responsible for the number of matches that have been lost since the holiday break, Ratcliffe has let in an awful lot of goals as defeat has followed defeat for the Under 18s (they were beaten again, by 2-0 at Watford, yesterday). Under normal circumstances, you would expect a keeper letting so many goals in to be under pressure for his place, but I'd say Ratcliffe is one of a group of very young players who the club hope will develop in the next couple of seasons after a very testing introduction to Under 18 level football.