Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) chairman Nguyen Trong Hy said the transfer price of local footballers is getting far beyond their actual values and thus it is bringing about bad effect to the national football development.

He labeled the local transfer window is almost in a chaos as clubs are chasing to sign qualified players at high-sky price when the new season will loom on January 22.

Hy agrees with Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC owner Doan Nguyen Duc that no Vietnamese player is worth over VND5 billion (US$256,000). But Cong Vinh, 25, of T&T Hanoi is priced VND20 billion (over $1 million). Navibank Saigon signed striker Quang Hai at the price of VND10 billion ($513,000). Minh Phuong also moved to SHB Danang for VND7 billion ($359,000).

With well-trained footballers under their age of 23 becoming a really scarce commodity, clubs have to accept the escalating price to have enough 25 players to register for the new season.

The rarity of young players is rooted from the fact that most of 14 clubs at the Vietnam’s premier league, V-League, have yet developed own policy for youth training -- excluding some clubs as Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Dong Thap, and Song Lam Nghe An.

And the hunt of young player has even become harsher for clubs when the Vietnam’s football governing body VFF has recently ruled that each club must register at least five under-23 players and a maximum of five foreign athletes.

The increasing price of player should be an encouraging factor if it reflects their real values, Hy noted.

It is not now in Vietnam, he added.

Source: VNN