The complicated circus of Transfer Deadline Day has left big Sam Allardyce scratching his head as the Everton Manager has confirmed that 'image rights' prevented Davy Klaassen from joining Napoli on loan for the remainder of the season.
Napoli and Everton had agreed a deal for the Dutchman to join the Italian club on loan before they hit the most 'modern-football' of hurdles, and the deal collapsed due to short amount of time left to irons out the creases. Big Sam, who is a man firmly from the old school, explained; "I got the weirdest situation. A contract he has with a sporting company is one of the reasons why it failed. We are disappointed but he should be far more disappointed than us that he is not playing for Napoli in the Italian league."
Yeah, we know Sam...
What Allardyce is likely alluding to is that Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentis insists that all players hand over 100% of their image rights to the club when they sign. Resulting in players having to reach an agreement with all other existing sponsors – a process that would naturally take time.
So, who's to blame? Well, most clubs usually take 50% of player image rights, which allows them to use imagery of the player in club promotional material. For example, a Nike player could be used in the launch of the club's new adidas kit, as long as other players are involved and it promotes the club, not the brand.
Ultimately the situation would have left Klaassen less valuable to his other sponsors, and as he's a popular figure in the Netherlands, that could have potentially ended additional income for the player. Now, he's likely to remain on the bench or in the stands at Everton until the summer. So, who wins? Nobody.
Modern football, eh?
