TOWARDS THE end of a day on which he might have been forgiven for being a little distracted, Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew last night welcomed the capture on loan until the end of the season of Irish midfielder Stephen Ireland, predicting the St James’ Park outfit will see the best of him over the coming months.
“Stephen has shown over the past few seasons he’s a real top player so we’re really pleased to have got him until the end of the season,” he said. “He can create chances for others and score goals himself, and we think he can be a big factor for us in the second part of this season. I think Stephen feels he can deliver more than he’s shown at Villa so far, so he’s got a point to prove and I believe we can reap the benefits of that.”
Having previously criticised the 24-year-old’s work-rate, Gerard Houllier sounded a conciliatory note as the Irishman departed – after the deal was reported to have been held up due to issues relating to his medical – insisting the player might yet have a long-term future at Villa Park.
“I think Stephen was, first of all, a bit unlucky because he has had several injuries,” said the Frenchman. “I remember the first game he was about to play and he picked up a dead leg and maybe when he was given his chance the team wasn’t at its best. But the door remains open for him as an Aston Villa football player.”
There may be little more chance of Andy Reid ending up back in the Republic of Ireland team, while Giovanni Trapattoni is in charge, than Ireland. However the Dubliner also looks likely to see more top-flight first-team action over the remainder of the season, even if the scale of the opportunity that awaits him at Blackpool was still a little uncertain a couple of hours before the transfer window closed last night due to the fact Charlie Adam’s future had yet to be decided.
“I’ve just met him and had a chat with him,” said Blackpool boss Ian Holloway of Reid yesterday. “I think he will be perfect for us, a little dinky-do football player and we’ll have him and it won’t take me long to get him going.”
Andy Keogh switched Championship clubs, meanwhile, with the 24-year-old leaving Cardiff City to join Bristol City on a three-month loan from Wolves. The player scored twice in 13 appearances for the Welsh side and could make his City debut against Swansea this evening.
Conor Sammon has been rather more prolific than that of late, getting 18 goals in 26 run-outs for Kilmarnock this year, compared to seven in 49 over the course of the previous two years and the former bank official appeared to have done well to spurn interest from Scunthorpe and Derby in recent days as Premier League outfit Wigan moved to sign him last night for around €500,000.
The striker played for UCD and Derry City in the League of Ireland before moving to the SPL for a small fee. He struggled to make a major impact there initially but his form since the summer looked set last night to earn him a shot at establishing himself alongside the likes of Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane in the Premier League and perhaps joining the pair in senior international set-up.
Speculation West Ham were about to make a bid for another increasingly-prolific Irish striker – Reading’s Shane Long – appeared increasingly unlikely to come to anything with time running out.
Manager Avram Grant, however, reiterated his satisfaction at landing Keane, who could make his West Ham debut at Blackpool tomorrow evening. “I’m really happy to have him. He can help us a lot and brings plenty of quality.”
Preston North End chairman Maurice Lindsay insisted yesterday he had turned down bids for Seán St Ledger and Andy Lonergan, the club’s goalkeeper who has previously expressed an interest in declaring for Ireland.
Cardiff, who made an offer for Lonergan over the weekend, were being linked with a last-minute bid to take Shay Given on loan despite Roberto Mancini insisting a few days ago the Donegal man would not be leaving.
