SOCCER IRISH PLAYERS ON MOVE:AS MARK Yeates moved closer to completing his move to Championship side Middlesbrough last night, there was renewed speculation that Stephen Hunt might be about to travel in broadly the same direction with reports in the area that Sunderland are about to revive their interest in the Republic of Ireland midfielder.
Yeates, a former under-21 international who left Spurs a couple of years ago having failed to make an impact on the first-team squad, enhanced his reputation considerably over the last year with Colchester, scoring 12 goals in 42 appearances, mainly in midfield but also, on occasion, in attack.
Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate clearly sees the 24-year-old as being the sort of player who can help Middlesbrough get to grips with life in the Championship.
“We have got to be mindful of covering everything,” he said. “We need players of Premier League quality, but I want players who have played in the Championship and who have a hunger to push on and a desperate desire to play in the Premier League. We want a mixture of hunger, energy and quality.”
Yeates was at Middlesbrough yesterday for a medical with a fee – believed to be in the region of €575,000 – and personal terms having apparently been agreed.
“I’d like to hold on to Mark,” said Colchester boss Paul Lambert. “He would definitely leave a hole because he’s an exciting player, one of our best, but in the end money will decide what happens.”
Sunderland, meanwhile, look set to make an approach for Hunt who, thus far, has not attracted the sort of interest from Premier League clubs that he did in recent transfer windows. A distinctly quiet second half to the season may not have helped his case and while the 27-year-old has a clause allowing him to leave the Madejski Stadium in the event that a club offers £5 million (€5.75 million) it remains to be seen whether Sunderland would be prepared to meet that sort of valuation or if Reading would hold out for it.
On Wednesday, Reading’s director of football Nicky Hammond acknowledged that he expected Hunt to move on while the player himself has made it entirely clear he wishes to be playing in the Premier League next season.
His team-mate, Kevin Doyle, looks certain to be but his destination remains uncertain. Wolves have already agreed to pay the £6.5 million (€7.5) million required to trigger the striker’s release clause and have held talks with the 25-year-old about moving to Molineux while Fulham have also made a definite approach to both club and player.
Yesterday, there were unconfirmed reports that Bolton Wanderers had matched Wolves’ fee and continued speculation that Sunderland are about to move for the Ireland international too.
Shelbourne, meanwhile, have confirmed they will play friendly games against Leeds United and Millwall at Tolka Park on July 14th ad 21st respectively. Tickets for both games are available from the club on 01 8375536 or 01 8205366 during office hours.
