More speculation to contemplate as Dougie looks to strengthen our attacking options. What will we look like when the dust settles?
Jacob Mulenga is a wanted man. The prolific Zambian striker, currently plying his trade in the Netherlands at FC Utrecht, is hoping his new club are based in England. Mulenga`s agent has promised the media and all waiting parties, his client will make a decision on his future tomorrow, Monday 15th July.
Why are you telling us this, I hear you ask? Well, it`s because Bolton Wanderers are apparently one of the waiting parties.
With the Jermaine Beckford deal yet to be resolved, if reports on Mulenga are true, it looks like our manager is prepared to offer Mulenga a deal at the Reebok.
Last week, Nottingham Forrest were reported to be in the driver`s seat for the hit-man, but since their enquiry, the Reds have been joined by QPR, Wigan and the Whites.
A couple of tabloid newspapers are claiming, a settlement for Jermaine Beckford`s release from Leicester has been agreed and the striker is free to join his new team-mates at Euxton. But it is also claimed some financial reservations are still blocking the Whites` attempt to bring Beckford to the Reebok from Leicester, with the Midlands club still insisting a fee for the 29-year-old instead of negotiating a settlement for the remaining years of his contract. £1 million is owed to Everton if the striker plays just one more competitive game for the club, so the Foxes will want Beckford gone before the new season kicks off, one way or another.
Freedman definitely doesn`t seem like a man to sit at his desk waiting for the phone to ring, so the Mulenga link doesn`t surprise me. If Mulenga is on his radar and he anticipates the Beckford deal to be rubber-stamped eventually, surely that would mean at least one of the strikers on our books to leave this season on some capacity. The question is, which one/s and for how long? Another loan for Eaves? An initial loan for Sordell? A permanent switch for Ngog?
Whatever happens, the next few weeks for the Whites` strike-force is going to be busy, interesting and pivotal to the success of our club next season. The sentiment ‘In Dougie we trust’ has never felt as poignant. I have faith… Do you share my belief?