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Perhaps going over old ground, but I'm not sure bidding wars in the context of transfer fees are much of a thing, at our level anyway. There will come a point where bid(s) are tabled which the Club finds acceptable. Any bidding war between clubs will be in terms of contract and wages. FWIW I think around £6m could just about be achievable, but it would also be the ceiling of what we could reasonably expect.

They are in some leagues. The markets where we picked up Priestman, Watt and Just, not so much. I'm sure if we can get more, we will do that. The fact they still have long-ish contracts increases their value too.

What you say is very true, but valuations are increasing at a stupid rate, stupidly quickly across europe. Scottish football should not be excluded from these rises just because what happened in the past. Our guys are under contract and extremely important part of the team cog.

It's like Bargain Hunt. Need two or more interested buyers to start a bidding war. Ultimately, as David says, it's about what the market will pay. Many factors are in play there from the cost of comparable players to resale value. The World Cup helps raise profiles and interest which is why, if we are selling, we should take advantage of the uptick in publicity. Plus it's another success story we can point to when trying to sign new players. While 3 or 4 million might feel low, it's a pretty good return on investment financially and for what has done for us on the pitch. I'm sure the Board will have run the numbers and figured out what is reasonable. I remember Caldwell quoting all the stats for Miller comparing him to similar players in his age group, and I'm sure they will be doing the same for all or potential transfers out.

Transfer fees aren’t really based on how highly supporters rate a player. They’re based on what the market is willing to pay, and historically clubs in Scotland outside Celtic and Rangers rarely command £6m fees unless you’re talking truly exceptional circumstances. Like a Lennon Miller. The World Cup definitely helps exposure, no doubt about it, but one tournament doesn’t automatically double a player’s value overnight. I think there’s a difference between saying he’s played at a £6m level and saying a club will actually pay £6m. Those aren’t always the same thing.

I’m not saying we should expect 15m but I think 4M is on the low side.

Wood has a much better track record than Just and played at a consistently higher level. When we signed him, Just had been on a season long loan to a 2nd division Austrian team. Which goes to show what great scouting combined with great coaching can do.

I agree with most of what you say except the valuation. For me Just was the second best player in the league last season after Maeda and more consistent over the whole season. Plus he's just stood out at a World Cup and scored 3 goals. I don't think £6M is unreasonable and I'm more conservative than most people in valuations.

Lets be honest Hastie wasn't that good a player he got his move on the strenght of a two or 3 month brilliant spell at Fir park which he never repeated. Rangers were naieve enogh to offer him a 4 year deal for ridiculous wages so nobody was turning that down. We all knew he would never get near the Rangers 1st team and in 4 years time he would be released into the wilderness of lower league football. If he'd stayed at Fir park would he have become a 1st team regular, for me no as he was average at best, so for me he made the right move and earned himself a good wedge of cash for basically contributing feck all.

I think £4 mill is likely the ceiling, we'd do well to get that kind of money. Transfer fees aren’t just about how good someone looks in a tournament. They’re about age, contract length, league, buying market, resale value and proven level. The Chris Wood comparison doesn’t really apply either. Wood moved for those fees because he was a proven Premier League centre-forward, with a rare physical profile and years of goals behind him. Plus, that market is completely different from a wide player coming out of Motherwell, no matter how good Elijah has looked. I would say that the World Cup absolutely raises his value. No doubt about that. That provides visibility, creates interest and maybe turns a £2m player into a £3m–£4m player if there’s a bit of competition and a bidding war or something. But £3m–£4m for a 26 year old attacking player from a non-Old Firm Scottish club would already be a very good fee. If he was 20 or 21, with the same performances and bigger resale upside, then I’d agree the number should be a bit higher. For me, the club should be aiming for a decent guaranteed fee, good add-ons, and a sell-on clause. That’s where we can protect ourselves if he goes on and proves he’s worth far more.

He was playing along side Chris Wood who has moved for 15M 25M and 15M. Just looked way better than Wood.

Sorry, should have said I`m happy if the money is correct and meets our valuation.

God, old age and forgetfullness. I can`t remember him at all.

3 to 4 mill just is a joke,class act,showed up in world cup and scored goals from midfield.

Exactly what I was thinking. If they all go, I doubt we will have as good a season, but as long as we get top 6, I would be delighted with a financially secure club.

I liked him with us.

I didn't mean that literally every youngster that moves goes to their boyhood club, but it does happen.

Jake Hastie certainly didn't go to his parents boyhood club, exactly the opposite. I know the family and his uncle said they were happy to take £7K a week off THEM.......

Just think of the chaps that did stay and did make a lot of appearances for us but never got a decent move elsewhere - Stuart Carswell, Barry Maguire and Jack Leitch to name but three. I fear that Ewan Wilson and Luca Ross may follow them.

James Furlong is out of contract Still only 24 and did alright with us in previous loan spell Might be a good signing

I think that’s fair to an extent, but I’d say that’s slightly separate from the point I’m making. I completely agree that uprooting at 16 and moving hundreds of miles away, or even abroad, is a huge decision and not every young player will be comfortable doing that. But we’re still talking about young lads making career decisions in an industry where the odds of making it long term are incredibly small, and where one injury can change everything very quickly. Some will value first team football above everything else. Some will value financial security. Some will value staying close to family. Some will back themselves enough to take a bigger gamble elsewhere. I just think supporters are a bit too quick to look at it entirely through a footballing lens and say “he should have stayed here, played 50 games and got a better move later”. The problem is football careers don’t follow neat scripts like that. Plenty of boys stay, never kick on, lose form, get injured or disappear down the leagues. It’s easy to say what the right choice was after the fact. Much harder when you’re 16 and trying to make a decision that could shape the rest of your life.

I can see both sides of the argument but relocating away from home, at 16, to a club miles away i.e. Brighton is a big move that will cause a major disruption to family life. Not all youngsters are cut out for that.

I think a lot of supporters massively overestimate how predictable football development actually is. I see it said that Rice should have stayed because he’d have had 50 games with us and earned a bigger move later. Maybe. But statistically, most academy players never make it that far. Across professional football, the majority of academy players are out of the game entirely by 21. Even at clubs like ours, dozens sign professional deals over a decade and only a small percentage become established first team players. Then add injury risk. One bad injury at 18 and suddenly that “big move later” never comes. It’s easy to point at Lennon Miller now, but Lennon is clearly an exceptional talent. Using the most successful academy player we’ve had in years as the benchmark for every youngster is hindsight. At 16 or 17, if someone offers you serious money, elite facilities and a different pathway, I don’t think taking that deal is mental at all. Supporters always talk about what players might earn in the future. Players have to think about what happens if that future never arrives.