Rangers and Celtic have both failed with bids for Exeter City youngster Alfie Pond, a report from Devon Live has said.
Exeter City talent Pond made his senior debut last season. He played 78 minutes against Chelsea’s U23s in the EFL Trophy back in August 2021, also coming on as a substitute in the win over Cheltenham Town.
The 18-year-old picked up some experience out on loan with Tiverton Town while also featuring in matchday squads against Rochdale and Northampton Town towards the end of the season.
Now, it has emerged that his talents have drawn interest from elsewhere.
Speaking with Devon Live, Grecians boss Matt Taylor has confirmed the club have turned down ‘a couple of really low offers’ from Scottish clubs. The report states the bids are thought to have come from Rangers and Celtic.
Taylor also reveals Pond isn’t accepting a ‘fantastic loan opportunity’ as it stands too, stating:
“We have wanted to play him more [in pre-season] but he has not been in the right headspace.
“We have turned down a couple of really low offers from clubs north of the border in relation to his contract and that is not resolving itself anytime soon.
“We have a fantastic loan opportunity on the table but the player and agent are turning that down at the moment. It is beyond me why players don’t want to play football and all of a sudden they sit on the bench and wait for the contract to run out based on advice they get elsewhere. It doesn’t help the club or the player or buying club.
“We want our young players to play as much but for whatever reason, that situation hasn’t materialised into anything positive.”
The next off the press?
Exeter City have grown a really strong reputation for producing and developing young players over the years.
A whole host of their current squad are products of their youth academy while many have gone on to pastures new after making a name for themselves at St. James’ Park. Ollie Watkins and Ethan Ampadu are the two most noteworthy examples, with the former now a favourite at Aston Villa while the latter is among the promising stars at Chelsea.
It will be hoped that Pond can be the next to follow the path, be it into the first-team or onto bigger things elsewhere.
For now though, it seems the focus needs to be on getting him back in the right headspace to ensure he starts the new season as strongly as possible, be it with Exeter City or elsewhere.
