Soccer: Portsmouth have rejected an offer in excess of €3.6 million from West Bromwich Albion for Irish midfielder Marc Wilson.
Portsmouth’s administrator Andrew Andronikou confirmed that the initial bid of €3.6million plus add-ons has been rejected by Portsmouth but has not ruled out the possibility of the Portsmouth captain leaving Fratton Park before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
He said: “Steve Cotterill does not want to sell such an important player. At the moment, as a club he is not a player we have identified to sell. We will have to wait and see what happens."
It is the second time this summer that the midlands club managed by Roberto Di Matteo have tried to sign the Irish player, who can play in midfield or as a defender.
Born in Armagh, Wilson played for Northern Ireland at Under-15 and Under-17 level before opting to switch allegiances to the Republic of Ireland.
An eligibility dispute between the IFA and the FAI surrounding Wilson, Darron Gibson and Daniel Kearns was resolved at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in favour of the FAI in July of this year.
Wilson (23) has been capped at Under-21 level for the Republic of Ireland and was an unused substitute in Giovanni Trappatoni’s senior squad for the friendly against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium in March. He has not been included in Ireland’s squad for the first two games in the European Championship qualifiers against Armenia and Andorra next month.