I'm for keeping our youngsters. But if someone puts out a good deal for us with a position we could use some real help in, I am never against trading.
Zidane got us Buffon, Nedved, and Thuram. Maybe there are some people who still believe we made a mistake in selling him. But if we had Zidane at age 22 or younger, would that mean all bets are off in trading him -- even if for the same class of Buffon, Nedved, and Thuram at the time? Because of a date on his birth certificate, he becomes untouchable?
I just don't see why someone's age makes them a protected class of player compared to someone else. It's all about economics and the value of assets in the end. As you well know, Wall Street is littered with stories of growth stocks of companies that were held on too long or not acquired for killer prices when they should have been traded. An asset's future potential should factor into its value, but that should never take it off the table.