New Red Bulls boss not excited about loaning out stars

You can’t swing a bag of practice balls around Red Bull Arena these days without nailing a high-profile player who wants to go on loan.

(Which begs the question, are things really so unsatisfactory around their Harrison home that these guys need a break from all things Red Bull? Perhaps that is a lagrer conversation for another day.)

Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez and Tim Cahill, the club’s current DP Amigos Three ®, have all turned up on the loan watch list. Marquez is wanted in Mexico, while the former homes of Henry and Cahill, Arsenal and Everton respectively, have been mentioned as temporary destinations for January and February.

Only, not so fast there …

New Red Bulls sporting director Andy Roxburgh, making some news yesterday with a ranging interview on matters of his new address, says he’s not particularly enthused about all this.

I’d say in general we wouldn’t be too positive about letting them go on loan, but against that, it depends on the individual, it depends on the circumstances. You can’t say never on that one, but it’s unlikely at the moment.”

The problem here, of course, is that big stars tend to get what they want. So while this represents a principled stance (because all three payers could use the rest, and this is hardly the best thing for the Red Bulls’ competitive ambitions), don’t be shocked if one, two or all three go play anyway.

By the way, Cahill at 32 is the youngest of the DP Amigos Three around Red Bull Arena. So, yes, they absolutely need some down time.