Reading reject "derisory" Shorey bid
Shorey earned his second England cap against Germany last week
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Thursday, 30, Aug 2007 04:52
Manager Steve Coppell has revealed that Reading have turned down a £4 million bid from West Ham for international defender Nicky Shorey.
The left-back, who has two senior caps for England, has been the subject of transfer speculation this summer with Hammers boss Alan Curbishley among Shorey's most vociferous admirers.
However Coppell says he has rejected the offer from West Ham United, dismissing it as "derisory, not serious", and saying he would be "happy with no deals" on transfer deadline day tomorrow.
"I can't deny West Ham have made an offer, but I look at the price of players and I consider the offer they made as being derisory," he said.
"It's an offer made to put the whole issue in the public domain, an invitation to cause unrest in a way."
He added: "I think the player is happy at Reading, but speculation about your future is bound to be unsettling. I hope he's playing for us on Saturday, let's see."
The Royals boss also revealed his nostalgia for the old days of transfer dealings.
"I long for the days when we used to do business by phone, you talk about it, a deal's not accepted and nobody knows," he continued.
"Now there's a way of doing things – you make an offer in writing, it comes out and everybody knows about it. You have to respond to it."
Despite losing star midfielder Steve Sidwell on a free transfer over the summer Coppell has been thrifty in the transfer market.
He has signed only two new players – Emerse Fae from Nantes for £2.5 million and Khalifa Cisse from Boavista for £1 million – but the club have still made a promising start to the new Premier League campaign with four points from a difficult first four games.