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Irish players who may be on the move this summer, and where they might go…
Published 15:57 21 May 2013 BST
Updated 16:15 5 Jun 2013 BST
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Published 15:57 21 May 2013 BST
Updated 16:15 5 Jun 2013 BST
It looks like being a busy summer ahead for lots of Irish players. Here’s a few who could well be on the move, and where they might are headed.
More than any season we can remember, this will be a turbulent one in English football. Managers are changing left, right and centre and that usually means lots of players will be moved on too.
Irish players will be to the forefront of that. Some because of relegation (we’re looking at you Wolves), some because their ability has caught the eye of bigger fish (paging James McCarthy) and some on the look out for one last contract (Richard Dunne to name just one).
Here's a look at just some of the likely movers...
James McCarthy
This is the big one from an Irish point of view this summer. Even if Wigan had stayed up, we suspect the midfielder would have been on his way out of the DW. With the Latics now down, the Irish international is almost 100 per cent certain to leave.
Reports today suggest Wigan have slapped a £15m price tag on him and that sounds like a decent price to us for a 22-year-old with bags of experience and the talent to go to the very top. He has been linked with most of the clubs at the upper end of the Premier League but today’s papers link him with a move to Spurs. McCarthy is certainly an upgrade on Scott Parker and with AVB on hand we think McCarthy could become an even better player than he is now.
Add in Europa League, though he could get that at Wigan next term too, and a move to White Hart Lane looks like a great move in theory. Irish fans of other big clubs may disagree...
Kevin Doyle
Far, far away from the from the glitz and glamour of European football right now is Kevin Doyle. A two-year spiral by Wolves has plunged one of Ireland’s most loved internationals into the third tier of English football.
At 29, the Wexford man needs to move, and Wolves need to get his wages off the bill, so where is he going? The rumour mill says Celtic, which would be great for Doyle as he would get a shot at the Champions League, a rare treat for Irish internationals these days. A move to Parkhead almost came about before and Neil Lennon is a big fan. So long as Lennon doesn’t leap onto the managerial merry-go-round, and Doyle takes a paycut, we can see this one happening.
Richard Dunne
A sad end to Dunne’s career at Villa. After four years, the first three of which he was superb, Dunne will not be getting a new deal this summer. Now, after an entire year on the sidelines, where can he go?
The MLS is always an option, and New York have been linked before, but we would hope he stays in England as Ireland still need him operatimng at a decent level. If he can prove his fitness he can definitely still do a job for a team in the Premier League. Liverpool are looking at Kolo Toure so they need a centre-half but realistically he may have to set his sights lower than Anfield.
A team like Cardiff, or Hull, might fancy adding him as an experienced, steadying force at the back while Sunderland might like to reunite him with John O’Shea. At worst, he should have no worries getting a gig in the Championship.
Aiden McGeady
Almost from the day he arrived in Russia, the former Celtic player was linked with a move back to Scottish, or more likely English, football. Fallings out with his coach at Spartak didn’t help and the feeling in Russia is that his latest problem, a six-game ban after a red card and a bit of crowd goading a few weeks back, spells the end of his mission to Moscow this summer.
The Russian press reckon the 27-year-old is off to Aston Villa or Everton, both long-time admirers of the winger if the press are to be believed. We would like to see McGeady try his hand at the Premier League but until we know who is in charge at Goodison we reckon Villa may be a more likely home for him. He's going to be pricey though, and that may scare a few off...
Some of the rest...
Villa want to ship out Stephen Ireland and Shay Given but their current contracts, and poor form, mean they are probably going nowhere. Both Hunt brothers, Noel and Stephen, are free agents. Stephen has been linked with an unnamed club in Germany and we reckon Noel, a reliable Championship goalscorer, will be picked up by someone.
A move might be no harm for Kieren Westwood either, but if Simon Mignolet moves, he may be upgraded to No 1 at Sunderland and Derby’s Jeff Hendrick is well regarded, and could be targeted.
A busy summer ahead then...
