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New year, new clubs By Robert Brennan
 The January
transfer window has opened and many Irish players have been linked with
moves…
Doyle a Chelsea target
Kevin Doyle has emerged as an £8million transfer target for Premier
League giants Chelsea.
Blues boss Avram Grant has been handed a £30million transfer war-chest
to bring in a raft of top-level signings as the Blues look to cope after
injuries to several key players.
And Reading ace Doyle is a shock candidate to be drafted in as a replacement
for misfiring misfit Andriy Shevchenko.
Should it go through — which as yet looks unlikely — the move
would also net Doyle’s former club, Eircom League of Ireland side
Cork City, a ?1.2million windfall.
Manchester City to strengthen Irish connection?
Richard Dunne has been receiving glowing praise for his recent performances
at the City of Manchester Stadium and the latest Irish teenage star to
burst on the scene could bolster City’s number of Irish players.
Sven Goran Eriksson is reportedly keen on making a big-money move for
Crystal Palace’s Irish youth international star Sean Scannell.
Scannell has made just seven first-team appearances for Neil Warnock’s
side, scoring his first senior goal against Sheffield Wednesday before
Christmas.
And the form of the London-born 17-year-old has alerted City boss Eriksson.
Keano’s January spending spree
Roy Keane has wasted no time in bolstering his Sunderland side. Manchester
United defender Jonny Evans has returned to the Black Cats where he spent
the second-half of the club’s Coca-Cola Championship title campaign
last season. Evans hit the headlines recently after being arrested and
bailed last month in connection with an alleged rape at Manchester United’s
Christmas party.
The 20-year-old Northern Ireland international’s loan move to the
Stadium of Light will run until the end of the season.
Evans’ arrival kills off any hope of United’s Danny Simpson
arriving on Wearside — Premier League rules state you can take only
one player on loan from any one club at one time.
Keane has seen bids for Stephen Hunt and Robbie Savage rebuffed by Reading
and Blackburn Rovers respectively but says he is not panicking yet and
is hoping to hear positive news on a number of other targets early next
week in time for the Portsmouth game.
The Corkman is hoping to lure Reading striker Leroy Lita to the North
East. Lita has become increasingly frustrated by his bit-part role at
the Madejski.
The arrival of a new striker may signal the end of Daryl Murphy’s
time at Sunderland. Waterford native Murphy, who scored in the 3-1 home
win against Bolton on December 29, is a target for Championship big spenders
QPR.
Keane is also set to launch a £3.5million bid for Middlesbrough
outcast George Boateng.
Keane might head back to Old Trafford for another former teammate with
Wes Brown rumoured to be heading for the exit door.
Sir Alex Ferguson has said that Manchester United have turned down an
offer from Newcastle United for the defender.
The 28-year-old England man will be a free agent in the summer when his
Old Trafford deal expires and he recently turned down what Sir Alex Ferguson
said was the club’s final contract offer.
Greg Halford has failed to adapt to the rigors of the Premiership and
Keane is a known admirer of Brown who has spent much of the season deputising
for the injured Gary Neville.
Ferguson must now decide whether to let Brown go now for a fee or lose
him for nothing in the summer. If he takes the first option it could leave
him light at the back with Neville still having to prove his match fitness.
John O’Shea will be hoping to step into the right-back berth should
Brown be shipped out although United could hijack Tottenham’s £8million
move for Glasgow Rangers full-back Alan Hutton.
McCarthy under pressure
Under fire Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has revealed that he had no option
but to haul off Irish forward Andy Keogh during the drab New Year’s
Day draw with Sheffield United because he was suffering from illness during
the game.
Keogh, a fans’ favourite at Molineux, was replaced midway through
the second-half of the stalemate against the Blades.
The decision forced a section of the home crowd to turn on McCarthy with
chants of: “You don’t know what you’re doing,”
ringing out around the ground.
But the former Ireland manager insists that there was no other option
but to substitute the young Dubliner who has been suffering from a chest
infection.
He said: “After about 10 minutes into the second-half Andy couldn’t
run. He was absolutely exhausted and that’s why I took him off.
It was the same on Saturday. He’d pushed his body to the limits.
“He was coughing and spluttering during the break and after about
five minutes into the re-start I saw that he was starting to struggle.”
And McCarthy insists he is not worried by the fan unrest which comes after
a seventh game without a win.
“Don’t you worry, I heard all the chants, loud and clear,”
he said. “I remember hearing a while back that ‘Super Mick
McCarthy’ was only an anagram of ‘Mick McCarthy out’.”
Burnley boss hails “top-class” McCann
With the FA Cup third round likely to throw up a few shocks keep an eye
on a young Dubliner who will be trying to cause an upset against the mighty
Arsenal. Republic of Ireland under-21 midfielder Chris McCann has been
hailed as a superstar-in-waiting by Burnley manager and one-time Irish
international Owen Coyle.
Coyle said: “I don’t want to heap pressure on him, but in
his position and at his age, I’m not sure I’ve seen a better
player. Chris has been immense since I came in and I think he’s
going to be a top player who will play at the highest level.”
Ipswich keen on Connolly
Ipswich Town manager Jim Magilton is interested in bringing another Irish
forward to Portman Road in the shape of Sunderland’s David Connolly.
Connolly has started just one Barclays Premier League game for Roy Keane’s
side this season.
His lack of game-time has made him a candidate for a January departure
and Ipswich are keen on the 30-year-old forward.
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