Forgotten man Ben Thatcher is being targeted by Southampton, according to one of this morning’s newspapers. Veteran defender Thatcher is yet to play a game under Roy Keane’s management, having suffered a knee ligament injury in the 3-2 derby victory over Norwich at the end of last season.
The Saints are reported to want to sign Thatcher on loan before the November 26th deadline, then make the deal permanent in January.
In September, Keane said Thatcher, who last season was reported to be unwilling to relocate to Suffolk, wasn’t in his plans at that point in time, going on to outline why squad members might fall out of favour with him: "Players have got to give themselves a chance, whether it’s players travelling, their attitude to training or being on time for training. That all comes into the reckoning if you want to be in my team.
"There’s lots of issues with lots of players, although generally speaking I’m delighted with the group, but there’ll always be one or two you need a bit more from.”
Last month, Thatcher, who is also yet to feature in a reserves league game, suffered a slight setback with his knee problem, but wasn’t expected to be sidelined for more than a couple of weeks.
Thatcher joined the Blues on a free transfer from Charlton in the summer of 2008, signing a two-year deal and has made 23 appearances for Town without scoring. Southampton already have one Town left-back signed on a free transfer, Dan Harding having moved to St Mary’s in the summer.
Elsewhere, Sheffield Wednesday central defender Richard Wood is understood to have held talks with Coventry City yesterday regarding a move to the Sky Blues. One report this morning claims Town are still interested in signing Wood, but he appears very much more likely to be on his way to the Ricoh Arena.