Former Port Vale youth teamer Freddie Lawrie has completed a move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in a move which could earn Port Vale a further windfall on their former youngster.
Freddie Lawrie Factfile
Born in Uttoxeter, Freddie joined Uttoxeter Juniors at the age of four. In 2022 he made the move to Hanley Town where he spent six months before he was offered an eight week trial at Port Vale. The Valiants were so impressed they offered him a profession two year contract just two weeks into the trial period. Four months later, Lawrie was offered a scholarship by the Valiants. Playing in a tournament at Oakham, Lawrie was declared a category one player. This drew the attention of big clubs and in September 2023 Lawrie was signed by Aston Villa. He played for Aston Villa’s U16 side despite being a year under age and he is currently the England U17 captain.
What’s the story…
Lawrie moved to Villa Park last season with Villa paying a club record fee (believed to be more than £600,000) for the teenager. Lawrie was in such good form for Villa Reserves that he attracted the attention of Man City who have now signed the midfielder on a long-term deal. As Lawrie was under contract at Villa Park he is likely to have cost City a significant sum. It is believed that Vale, as the founding club, will be due a portion of the transfer fee.
How did you get to the original £600,000+ fee for Lawrie?
This was simple deduction. Reports said that Villa would pay a record fee for a youngster when signing Lawrie. Their previous recorded record fee was £600,000 for Omari Kellyman so it stands to reason that Lawrie’s fee was higher.
What have City paid for Lawrie and how much could Vale net?
That’s not clear as no fee has been disclosed. However, with Lawrie under contract and highly regarded it’s not likely to be a small sum. It could conceivably be a seven figure sum with Vale potentially earning a proportion of that. However, until any fee is revealed it’s impossible to speculate on how much Vale may get.
Are Vale doing well selling youth team players?
Yes, last season Vale earned the Lawrie transfer fee and also banked around £200,000 from the sale of Michael Mills to Newcastle United The club also sold striker Baylee Dipepa to Southampton for a large fee and have previously sold Joel Ndala to Manchester City. The forward could be sold and that transfer would also earn the Valiants a percentage.
17 years old Baylee Dipepa was also sold to Southampton last year for an “undisclosed fee”. Unconfirmed, but perhaps around £1m ?
Ah sorry David I completely forgot that one too – it will be added.