Big Sam : Tricky Business Buying Abroad

Big Sam Allardyce has today highlighted how hard it can be in choosing which players from abroad to target and has explained it can be a difficult judgement call when assessing who is right for bringing over to England and who won't make the grade when they are here.

It is a skill for sure and Sam has explained there are mainly factors that can effect things.

Allardyce speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire - 'We've got a liaison officer to cover all aspects of helping them settle in,'

'You have to look at a complete life change and make sure they're happy.'

'First and foremost I want to know how good their English is,'

'Their partner's also need to speak English. A player at this club who leaves here and drives home and his wife or his partner is miserable then you have got no chance of any success.

'You have to make sure you look into the whole family scenario and make sure that they're living in the right area, they know where they can shop, the kids are at the right school and they know where the doctor is.

'I think that is hugely important in terms of foreign players settling into this country as quickly as possible,' he added.

Allardyce continued to highlight that the personal life of a player will be the MAIN factor when judging how quickly a player will settle in.

Sam continued - 'We've had a couple of partners with newborns and that can be a problem to the player,'

'He can suffer from sleep deprivation and a change of lifestyle, particularly if it's his first child, so we have to monitor him to make sure he is 100% when he comes in.

'It's easy to find out his positioning isn't quite right, or his fitness isn't up to scratch.

'But it's harder to find out how religious are they. We need to know what church they'd like to be near or if they have a part of their life where they need to fast.'

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