Northern Ireland coach Nigel Worthington says he’s not surprised Town defender Gareth McAuley is interesting Premier League Bolton and SPL champions Rangers. McAuley is likely to win his 22nd full cap when Northern Ireland take on Chile at the Estadio Municipal de Chillán in a friendly this evening.

Worthington said: "I've known Gareth a long time and worked with him at Leicester City when I was there for a short period.

"He's a good pro, very focused on his job and I'm not surprised that bigger clubs are being mentioned.

"The more players we can have at the top end of the league, whether it be the Premiership or the Premiership in Scotland, the better for the player and the better for us."

McAuley, 30, is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2011, having moved to Portman Road from Leicester in the summer of 2008 for a fee of £1.1 million.

Meanwhile, in Sunday's papers, Middlesbrough are reported to be winning the race for Scunthorpe striker Gary Hooper. The Blues and a host of other clubs are understood to have been chasing the former Grays Athletic man.

Boro are said to have made a £2.5 million bid for the 22-year-old, who is claimed to already have been shown round their training ground.

While the Blues watched Hooper in action on a number of occasions last season, Cardiff's Michael Chopra is top of Roy Keane's list of strikers with a bid which we now understand to be in the region of £3.5 million having been tabled.

Cardiff's takeover by a Malaysian consortium was completed earlier in the week, but the Bluebirds still may not be in a position where they can turn down an offer for this season's 21-goal top scorer.

Photo: Action Images

itfc1981 added 09:42 - May 30 mind your own business scummer!
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tommyblue added 11:35 - May 30 Michael chopra would be a awesome signing, 3.5millilion what u pay for a goalscorer
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jas0999 added 13:07 - May 30 If Chopra signs I think we have a decent chance next season. £3.5M seems reasonable, whereas £2.5M for Hooper seems overpriced. McAuley had a dreadful start to the season, but hats off, proved his doubters (including me) wrong. Good on him. Hope he stays, but NOT surprised by the interest.
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gingerbond added 19:38 - May 30 Keep your hands off McAuley!! Chopra would be a great signing...not so sure about paying 3.5 million though!
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tractorboynathan added 22:05 - May 30 Please can someone tell me, why would chopra leave cardiff for ipswich!? He has a much bigger chance to get promoted with cardiff than with ipswich, and now cardiff ave been taken over they can still afford his big wages! As much as i would love to see him here, its no going to happen! Seriously get realistic people!
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dave26itfc added 10:33 - May 31 tractorboynathan - read the article, it says they still may not be in a position to turn down a good offer. Just because they have been taken over, doesnt mean their debt get wiped out automatically, they will still need money to repay it. He has said himself that he would love to work for keane again, and maybe as we beat cardiff twice last season, he may realise we are better than our position suggests, you have to be optimistic.

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