Originally Posted by
jackal2
I think the owners already knew how good Macauley was/is because they gave him a three-year contract rather than the standard two. If he carries on scoring like he is, the balance between his worth to us and his market value will probably be struck after about 18 months, so I wouldn't be surprised if we sold him in next season's winter window for a very sizeable fee.
I know a lot of fans hate such talk, and I certainly don't want to see players like him leave, but realistically you can't let someone that good get to the end of their contract and go for nothing. You've either got to extend their contract or sell at the financially opportune time. The good news is that the same people who spotted Macauley will be the ones identifying his replacement, and they'll have a fair bit of cash to play with!