Not many Scottish teams will have come out of the transfer window with as much optimism as Motherwell Football Club did last week.

The Well made around £450k on defender Ben Heneghan who joined English Championship side Sheffield United. The centre-back had an impressive debut season at Fir Park and was linked with a move to Rangers before his deadline day move to The Blades.

Given that the twenty-three year old only had a year left to run on his deal with the Lanarkshire club,  they’ve decided to make a tidy sum on a player clearly on the up. He learnt a lot up north and will go to Sheffield United ready for the next challenge in his career.

The blow of losing Heneghan was expected by the Well fans and it was softened by the loan arrival of Peter Hartley from Blackpool and the success so far of Cedric Kipre, who joined earlier in the window. The young Frenchman initially signed a years contract but that was quickly extend to 2019.

Well boss Stephen Robinson was ecstatic to tie the twenty year old down to longer terms:

“We’re absolutely delighted Cedric has signed an extended deal as his progress so far has exceeded our expectations,”

“We brought him to the club after seeing potential in him, given he is still just 20, but he has really taken to life in Scotland and is enjoying himself.

“The key for Cedric is to continue to improve, continue to show the same sort of progress and if he does that, he’ll have an extremely bright future in the game.”

We could see Cedric following a similar path as Heneghan, which Motherwell wouldn’t mind as that will mean he develops as a footballer in the Scottish Premiership before they get another transfer fee in the bank in the future.

Motherwell also welcomed former Manchester United youth Liam Grimshaw back to the club on a permanent basis. The versatile midfielder re-joins from Preston and the committed competitor will be looking forward to getting back to business in Scotland’s top tier.

The Scottish top flight side also managed to rake in around £750k from Marvin Johnson’s move to Middlesbrough. When the winger departed Fir Park for Oxford United back on deadline day in August 2016 they insisted on inserting a sell-on clause and that clause managed to see the Well recoup a fee that became their third highest income for a player.

They will have inserted a similar clause into the Heneghan deal. It’s a good way to get a second payment for a talented individual. They know that prices can be inflated in England and that clubs down there can command a bigger fee, so these sell-on clauses can make sides like Motherwell a great revenue stream.

The Johnson cash along with the Heneghan deal meant that the Steelmen didn’t have to sell the talented youngster Chris Cadden.

Ironically it was Oxford, who were looking to reinvest their slice of the Johnson fee, that made a £450k bid for Cadden. The Scottish under-21 internationalist is one of our country’s best up and coming talents. Well clearly believe he can learn more at Fir Park before leaving for a greater fee at later stage.

It’s refreshing to see a Scottish side thinking in a longer term basis rather than just cash in on their top talent whenever a bid with a fee comes in. I truly believe that a player like Cadden will have a better development programme in Lanarkshire, at a club he’s been at since he was a kid. That continuity and getting minutes on the field will be vital in the energetic midfielders obvious progress.

Robinson was delighted to keep Cadden:

“I think he’s one of the best young talents in Scotland,”

 “He’s a brilliant boy with a great attitude and willingness to learn.”

The Steelmen also managed to keep hold of Louis Moult and that could be vital for them this season.

Moult has been prolific since his arrival in 2015. He has banged in thirty-two league goals in seventy-three appearances. That’s a similar ratio to the one Leigh Griffiths had at Hibs before his big move.

In the last couple of seasons ‘The Well’ have flirted with relegation and they have a young squad, so having a proven goalscorer in Moult could be the difference maker yet again.

Now the English hitman only has a year to go on his contract and Aberdeen were linked with him all summer but instead of cashing in Motherwell saw more value in keeping the striker.

Now had a club offered £1m plus for his services then I think the Motherwell board would’ve accepted but they clearly weren’t ready to accept anything below their own valuation.

The fact Moult hasn’t moaned about not being sold should prove that he’s committed to doing his job and that will hopefully mean even more goals this term.

I think that Motherwell have been very astute this summer. They’ve done business that suits their own needs and not went all out to bring in the coin at all cost. The club have kept players that they need for this campaign, brought in cash with some smart deals and snapped up some capable reinforcements.

I hope the Lanarkshire club’s bravery is rewarded with a strong league position come the end of the season.

Posted on September 6th, 2017 by scott
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