Hughes rejects Athletic’s offer

LEE HUGHES: Turned down a surprise contract offer from Latics. Latics

ATHLETIC have stepped up the search for a new striker after Lee Hughes rejected a surprise offer to stay at Boundary Park.

Manager Dave Penney admitted Athletic are unable to match the terms the 33-year-old striker has been offered by another club.

Hughes has had talks with Coca-Cola League Two club Notts County, while League One rivals MK Dons have also expressed an interest.

The news that Athletic had offered Hughes a new contract came as a shock as he had been expected to leave.

Hughes, who rejected an offer in January which would have made him Athletic’s highest-paid player, was allowed to join Blackpool on loan two months later.

And he was told that he was not being offered a new deal when his two-year contract expired.

Hughes, who became a free agent on June 30, asked Athletic if he could train with them pre-season until he got fixed up with a new club, but did sufficiently well to prompt Penney to offer him a deal for 2009/10.

Penney said: “The bottom line is that Lee scores goals, but we could not come near to the terms he was offered by another club.

“We have a list of other targets and weren’t simply banking on one player. Premier League clubs are only just returning to training and in a couple of weeks they might have players who become available.

“There is no hurry and we have to make sure that when we bring in a striker and central defender - the two players we need to complete the squad - they are the right ones.”


Stockport County, Athletic’s opening-day opponents, are set to announce their new manager tomorrow.

There is speculation that former Celtic and Northern Ireland midfield man Neil Lennon will be unveiled as the new boss.