I began my search in earnest today for a fill-in right winger. While I’m willing to give Laurent and Russell the opportunity to establish themselves in the team, I’m not going to ignore my options in bringing in someone of Shuker’s calibre.
I asked Assistant Manager Curtis Woodhouse to look into loan player availabilities, while I plunged into our scouting network for leads. Most of the players I found weren’t up to snuff, but one stood out.
Mark Bradshaw reported on Matteo Alberti a couple of weeks ago, suggesting that he’s of a similar ability to Chris Shuker—albeit as a different kind of winger. I asked my other scout, Ian Gardner, to check him out, and then saw that Italian side San Marino had put an offer in for the lad. I hurriedly offered Alberti a contract, ready to pull out if Gardner says no.
I don’t know what my chances are like of securing the midfielder’s signature. He’s Italian, which would likely see him favour San Marino, but he’s been playing in England for much of the past four years.
In other news, Michael Richardson rejected my offer to extend his loan until the end of the season—which means he’ll be returning to Newcastle in two days. We’ll miss him and his impressive work rate.
[I started this blog six months ago today. Wow, can’t believe I managed to get a post up every day for half a year (excepting the one day early on where Steam for Mac was broken). Here’s to a strong second half.]
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