TRANSFER NEWS:REPUBLIC OF Ireland stalwart Kevin Kilbane completed his move from Wigan Athletic to Hull City yesterday while Steve Finnan was last night on the verge of joining the 31-year-old at the KC Stadium.
The former Liverpool defender was in Hull yesterday for talks with the club and was reported to be undergoing a medical with the intention of completing a €25,000-a-week deal.
Espanyol had earlier accepted an offer of nearly €1.5 million for the 32-year-old after declining to allow the Limerick man to go to Tottenham on loan.
Hull’s eagerness to complete the deal will have been increased over the previous 24 hours by Ricky Sbragia’s decision to curtail Paul McShane’s loan spell at the club and bring him back to Sunderland.
Finnan, as it happens, only returned to training last week and is still some way off full fitness, something that Giovanni Trapattoni will be pondering as he prepares to name his squad on Monday for the forthcoming World Cup qualifier against Georgia.
Kilbane, though, looks set to make his City debut against Arsenal tomorrow after finalising his return to England’s north east on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce expressed regret at losing such a solid member of his squad but said that with the Irishman due to be out of contract in the summer the move, which is believed to involve a small undisclosed fee, represented good business given how restricted Kilbane’s involvement with the first team has been of late.
Phil Brown, meanwhile, expressed delight at the level of experience the versatile left-sided player will bring to a team that has struggled recently after a strong start to their first premier league campaign. “He is 31 years old and he has got 90-odd internationals,” he said. “He has been a credit to the game at the highest level. That kind of experience is priceless to us at the moment.”
Predictably, a desire to play regularly again ranked high on Kilbane’s list of reasons for wanting to make the move but he also expressed the hope that he will be able to add something positive to the mix at his new club.
“I want to be playing games and once I’d spoken to Phil Brown, it became clear in my mind that I wanted to come here,” he said.
“I just hope I can add something to the squad and bring something different,” added Kilbane.
Liam Miller was similarly motivated to head for London yesterday with the 27-year-old completing his move to QPR on loan until the end of the season.
The Corkman had played just four times for Sunderland this season and, with his contract due to expire in the summer, will aim to secure a long-term deal with his performances for the Loftus Road outfit over the coming months.
“It’s a great move for me,” said the former Celtic and Manchester United player. “The club is heading in the right direction and when you look at the squad you can see the quality on offer.”
QPR boss Paulo Sousa expressed satisfaction at the arrival of new blood. “Liam will give us great options in that midfield area of the pitch,” he said. “He’s an energetic, box-to-box player who will complement the already positive options we have in the midfield department.”
Rangers are also said to be interested in Irish striker Daryl Murphy whose own opportunities at the Stadium of Light have been few and far between in recent months and the 25-year-old could well follow Miller south over the next 48 hours.
Darren Potter (24) made the somewhat shorter journey from Wolverhampton to Sheffield Wednesday yesterday with the midfielder also moving until the end of the season after slipping off Mick McCarthy’s radar at Molineux. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge here,” said Potter, who won the last of his five international caps against Brazil back in February. “I need games and this seems like a great club.”
