Town manager George Burley today revealed that his target is indeed Hassan Kachloul. The Town boss admitted that talks had been on-going and that he has given the player, interesting Villa, Derby and Celtic as well, a deadline of the end of the week by which time he has to make up his mind.
Burley said of the talks: "I got the impression when I spoke to him that he was genuinely interested in coming here. He likes the way we play and thinks we are a smashing club, but he is an out of contract player and therefore has several options to consider. It doesn’t surprise me that there is so much interest in him. Now it is just a question of waiting to hear what he decides to do. We have made him what I consider to be a good offer, but it is one that falls within our realms. At the end of the day, all you can do is talk to the player and make him an offer. It’s now up to him to make up his mind."
The player himself said: "I have spoken to Celtic and I am interested. It is an honour to have such a club interested and it would be an honour to play for them. I genuinely don’t know what I am going to do. I have spoken to all the clubs who are interested and the sooner I decide the better."
This is the third time that Town have chased the attacking midfielder. During last summer Southampton accepted a £2 million bid, but the player then decided he wanted to wait and see where he would take his career next. Then halfway through the season a bid of £1.6 million was accepted, but the player said he would rather wait until his contract ended before making up his mind.
His wage demands at Southampton have been a sticking point, reported at £26,000 a week, and this could be an issue with Town. Celtic and Villa would certainly be able to afford higher wages, but Villa cannot provide European football and Celtic cannot give him regular quality League football. The ball seems very much in the Moroccan's court.
Today's Do You Remember? man is Keith Bertschin. What do you recall of his Town career: Click the link on the Message Board: http://www.twtd.co.uk/messages