Steve Bruce responds to interest in Blackpool teenager

Blackpool head coach Steve Bruce responds to reported interest in Seasiders youngster Gabriel Schluter.

Transcript

00:00I wouldn't be surprised, and that's always a difficult thing that any academy faces.

00:06I don't know how long he's been in the academy, and I would be lying, but I believe he's been

00:09there a while. I'm aware because I played him against Liverpool, if you remember, a few weeks

00:17ago, because I've heard some very good things on him. And this is the problem that we all face.

00:22They get to a certain age and there's this stupid, crazy loophole where teams can come and

00:28nick them off us. And if a Premier League comes calling, then we understand. It's frustrating,

00:37but they are the rules. It wouldn't surprise me if the kid has had suitors from the higher level,

00:44because he's a very, very good footballer. Yeah, obviously you give him that chance. He

00:48was bright on his cameo. You want to see the best of your players, but you also put him in

00:52the shop window a little bit as well when you do that. Well, I didn't put him in the shop window.

00:56In fact, I asked for four or five and they've been training with us a lot. I mean, there's

01:03three of the younger players trained today with us, so it's something that happens weekly.

01:11So, look, if you've got a good young player and it doesn't take long for the football world to

01:17know where they are, it's a small pool we pick from. I know it's maybe hard to get rid of

01:24attention from Premier League clubs, but how important is it for Blackpool and other clubs

01:27at different levels to keep their own young players? This is the difficulty. It's a crazy

01:33rule. It shouldn't be allowed. I don't know how long he's been at the club. He might know. A good

01:38couple of years. You know, sometimes I've seen clubs, I've been at clubs where the kids have

01:43been with us when they're eight years old and come all the way through, get to 16, and all of a

01:48sudden the big boys come calling and you lose them. I remember when I was at West Brom, they'd

01:54lost two or three players to Villa. Frustrating for everybody concerned. It's vitally important

02:01that we breed a player. There's nothing like a young player coming through, as we've seen with

02:05Terry over the last couple of weeks. That horrible loophole, which for me shouldn't exist, but it

02:12unfortunately does.