Whites put off by 'silly money'
1:00pm Thursday 26th January 2012 in Latest By Marc Iles
Wanderers have cooled their interest in Blackpool’s highly-rated winger Matt Phillips after being told by the Seasiders that they cannot afford him.
Owen Coyle has watched the England Under-20s international closely in the Championship this season, where he has struck seven goals in his last six games, and made a tentative enquiry about his availability this week after hitting a dead end in his pursuit of Blackburn Rovers’ Junior Hoilett.
Cardiff City had already had an £800,000 bid rejected by Blackpool, who insist they are not in the market to sell.
And Wanderers were also knocked back after being told it would take “silly money” to land the 20-year-old in this transfer window.
Sources at Bloomfield Road suggest it would take in excess of £2.5million to prise Phillips away, although manager Ian Holloway admitted earlier this month that an approach from the Premiership could be difficult to resist. “Hopefully, no-one is going to come in and steal Matt like they did with Charlie Adam, because next summer God knows how much he will be worth,” he said.
“If it is a big enough club, he might have to go anyway because we are hardly the biggest club in the world.”
Blackpool signed Phillips for £200,000 from Wycombe Wanderers and he went on to make 26 appearances in the top flight as Holloway’s side were relegated on the final day.
His career sky rocketed after a loan spell at Sheffield United in October, and after scoring hat-tricks against Barnsley in the Championship and Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup, it was reported that 20 scouts watched his last outing against Crystal Palace.
Coyle has put his feelers out for a handful of young wide men who can add pace and goals to his attack, including Real Madrid’s Jese and FC Porto’s Juan Iturbe.
And while loan offers for both have thus far been repelled, Iturbe’s father Juan Del Carmen yesterday claimed his son was receptive to a loan spell away from Portugal.
Argentine club Racing have expressed an interest in loaning the 18-year-old, who has made just five league appearances since completing a £3.3 million deal from Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno in the summer.
And while it is understood that Wanderers’ offer still stands, it would seem they are still an outside bet if he chooses to leave Estadio do Dragao.
“My son has not been playing regularly at Porto,” he said. “We know of Racing's interest from the papers and we are looking for a solution, a loan spell so that he can play.”
“I would like to see my son play in Argentina and I hope the transfer [to Racing] goes through. My son is a fan of Racing.”
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