 Wednesday, 22nd Jun 2011 08:16 Midfielder Neil Kilkenny’s agent Pete Smith has confirmed that Town are amongst the sides interested in his player. The 25-year-old left Leeds at the end of the season and was linked with the Blues and a number of other clubs early in the month. Smith says Kilkenny is weighing up his options: “Forest, Burnley, Ipswich and Hull are all keen. They are all good clubs. Burnley with Eddie Howe in charge is a good club with a young manager. “Then there’s Hull whose coach Nigel Pearson had Neil as an U18 international with England and has a good knowledge of him. At Nottingham Forest you have Steve McClaren whose pedigree speaks for itself. “We are aiming in the next few days to have whittled down the offers and to have firmed up a club for Neil to move on to. “He needs to be somewhere where he’s playing regularly and where he can bed in, although that can always take a little time at a new club for any player.” Smith says the Australian international wants to make a move to progress his career rather than wages being the major consideration: “The key issue here is finding a club which will help take Neil’s career to the next level and let him really blossom as a player. If you are in a good place and playing good football the money will come naturally.” Kilkenny, who was previously linked with a move to Town when a Birmingham player in 2007, was born in Enfield but moved to Australia with his family as a child. Having captained Queensland's representative side, Kilkenny joined Arsenal’s academy but in 2004 moved on to Birmingham without having featured for the Gunners at senior or reserve levels. After four years, 10 starts, 29 sub appearances and two loan spells at Oldham, the 5ft 8in tall midfielder joined Leeds for £150,000 in January 2008. Kilkenny has been with the Whites ever since, making 118 starts, playing 26 games from the bench and scoring 11 goals, before turning down the offer of a new contract towards the end of the season, Leeds recently confirming his exit. Capped by England’s U18s and U20s, and having received calls by the Republic of Ireland at U19 level, Kilkenny committed to Australia, winning caps first with their U23s and then with the senior side, for whom he has now played nine times. Meanwhile, reports in East Yorkshire say former Blues loan midfielder Jimmy Bullard has indicated to Hull City that he would be willing to come to a seven-figure settlement of the remaining two years of his £45,000-a-week contract. Last week, Town boss Paul Jewell ruled the Blues out of the running for the 32-year-old having been unable to negotiate an affordable deal with Hull and Bullard. Whether the possible sale of Connor Wickham and Bullard potentially severing his ties with the Tigers would change that situation remains to be seen. QPR are currently understood to be the favourites for the former Peterborough, Wigan and Fulham man’s signature. Elsewhere, Tranmere left-back Aaron Cresswell has been linked with Swansea and Doncaster. Sources in the North-West have consistently reported that the Blues are heading the race for the 21-year-old with claims earlier in the week that the deal is all but done.
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