Hurst Undecided Whether to Include Waghorn With Bids Still on Table Thursday, 2nd Aug 2018 16:47 Blues boss Paul Hurst is still weighing-up whether to include striker Martyn Waghorn in the squad which faces Blackburn Rovers on Saturday with the interest in last season’s 16-goal top scorer still ongoing. Derby and Middlesbrough are the frontrunners in the chase for the 28-year-old, with Sheffield United also having made a bid but with no one yet meeting Town’s valuation. Speaking on Saturday Hurst said he’d like the situation to be sorted out as quickly as possible but that’s not proved to be the case. “What I’d like and what I’ve got might be two different things,” he reflected. “I think the situation hasn’t really changed, in all honesty. “This deadline next week, I really hope by then there is a conclusion but again that’s another situation that could change within the next five minutes. It might take the next few days one way or another. “It’s just a case of me making sure I’m not away from my phone too long and am waiting for that phone to ring.” He says the position is that offers remain on the table: “My understanding is that there are still bids there. I don’t believe there’s been a new bid, I think I’m right in saying. “So, like I said, he’s still very much our player. He’s trained with the players today, seems in good spirits and I’ll have a decision to make if nothing does happen whether or not to involve him [on Saturday]. “I think last week I said I probably would. I think I’ll have to assess that situation overall and see if I think it’s right or not for him to be part of the squad.” Regarding the interested parties, Hurst confirmed again that Derby and Sheffield United have made bids and that a third club is interested, who we understand to be Middlesbrough. Hurst says that there could be a domino effect with one move leading to a number of others taking place. Would he want players already signed before he allowed Waghorn to move on? “That’s the tricky situation you’re in, I guess,” he reflected. “People can wrongly get an idea that you’re awash with money and think they can add value on to people you’re bringing in. “I think we’ve got to be careful but everyone might be in the same boat. A lot of these situations you’re almost in this silly game and it’s a case of who blinks first. “So we’ll just try to make the best call we can as a football club. When we do decide, if there is business to be done.” He says he has liaised closely with Marcus Evans, advising on player valuations as the owner has handled the business side of player transfers, as he has for most of his time with the club. “We’ve had those sorts of conversations,” Hurst said. “I’ve perhaps said to him that I think we’d perhaps be better served doing this or we’d be better not accepting that. “Ultimately, I guess that the final decision will be with him, but at the same time I don’t expect a final decision ever to be not what I’m happy and comfortable with. "I think we’re learning how to work with each other, I suppose, because each club is different. This is different to what I’ve been used to at my previous clubs. “He’s very hands-on and wants to be involved in the deals. He works extremely hard away from the football club to get the best deals for us. “But ultimately we certainly won’t be signing a player that I don’t want to be at the football club and am trying to demonstrate already that I’m with him in terms that I don’t want us to be spending silly money on players. “I’ve said it from the start to him, and I think he’s seen that already, the fact it’s not my money doesn’t mean I don’t respect it and I won’t just go along and say, ‘Sign him, it doesn’t matter what it takes’. I want us to get value for money myself.” While there are bids in for Waghorn, none are currently at the value the club are willing to accept and until that valuation is met the situation isn’t going to change. “That’s pretty much where we’re at,” Hurst continued. “We can look at that, we can look at what we can get in and what that’s going to cost if that’s part of the scenario as mentioned. “But at the minute, as we speak at least, and like I say it could change very quickly, our stance hasn’t changed. We’ll see if anything does change because we’ve all, including ourselves, got decisions to make whether we change our viewpoints, whether that’s ins or outs.” He says if the Waghorn situation does change he is ready to press button which will give the go-ahead on incoming deals. “Yes, pretty much,” he said. “Like I said, a lot of things have been bubbling along for a long time and I think I’ve said I think I’ve been here longer than the time I have already and those situations feel like they’ve been going on for the last couple of years, to be honest! “So again, I can only reiterate that I’ll be glad when September does come and at least then whatever’s happened or hasn’t happened, you know exactly what squad you’re working with then and then it takes away all the speculation, any doubt in people’s minds. “If anyone’s here that didn’t want to be, tough, they’re here. If we’ve missed out on players and haven’t been able to bring them in, that’s tough on me and you get on with it but at least then you know exactly what you’re working with and you try and get the best out of them.”
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