Kamara coming
7:00am Thursday 31st January 2013 in Sport By Marc Iles
THE transfer window looks like finishing more with a bang than a whimper for Wanderers after Dougie Freedman closed in on a key target last night.
Sierra Leone international Medo Kamara is expected to finalise a move from Serbian side FK Partizan today, ending the Bolton manager’s long chase for a defensive midfielder.
The 25-year-old parted company with his club yesterday morning and was due to arrive in the UK last night.
But the exact details of the deal were being kept a closely guarded secret in an effort to fend off any late attempts to take him elsewhere.
The arrival of a player with Champions League experience, who has been the subject of multi-million pound links with a number of big clubs including Tottenham in the past, is undoubtedly a coup for Freedman and Wanderers.
But the movement is unlikely to end there, with Freedman still in the market for a winger as the deadline closes in.
Leicester City centre-half Cian Bolger will be unveiled as a new signing after completing a medical yesterday but Wanderers have put the brakes on efforts to sign Hamilton Academical’s Gary Fraser.
There were also suggestions last night that players could be leaving the Reebok – with all eyes on Fiorentina and their pursuit of full-back Marcos Alonso.
But news of another rival bid for the former Real Madrid man also emerged late last night.
Viola sporting director Daniele Prade said Wanderers were standing firm on their valuation of the Spaniard, thought to be £600,000.
And that is likely to mean the youngster will remain in England until the summer, after which his move would then be settled by tribunal.
“I think it would be hard to take him right away, because Bolton are making a stand,” Prade said. “If we don’t find an agreement with them, then we will do everything in June.”
But it has now emerged that Premier League Stoke City have also enquired about the defender's availability, and the Potters - known for their business on deadline day - could well be willing to match Wanderers' asking price.
Other potential exits include winger Gregg Wylde, who is being monitored by Hibs, and youngsters Joe Riley and Rob Lainton, who Freedman revealed last week have both been subject to loan bids from clubs in League One.
Kamara has spent the last two-and-a-half years in Serbia but had indicated to the Belgrade club that he would not be renewing his contract at the end of the season.
It is thought Wanderers have paid just £400,000 for his signature – a fraction of the multi-million figures that have been mentioned alongside his name in the past.
Kamara holds Finnish citizenship by virtue of spending six years playing club football in the country but was denied the chance to represent them at international level in 2010 by FIFA.
He has since represented Sierra Leone – his country of birth – on eight occasions, scoring once in a World Cup qualifier against Cape Verde.
click2find
