Eaves in contract talks

TOM EAVES: The young striker is attracting interest from a host of top clubs, according reports.

ATHLETIC striker Tom Eaves has yet to put pen to paper on a professional contract with Athletic, the club have revealed.

The 18-year-old enjoyed his longest first-team run-out yet on Saturday, replacing the injured Pawel Abbott at half-time.

Eaves struggled against a physical Southend back-line in the 2-2 draw at Boundary Park, but remains a player with plenty of potential.

Officials are in negotiations with Eaves and his agent over the two-year pro deal offered to the second-year scholar and hope that he will commit to staying on with Athletic.

Rumours in the national press at the weekend suggested that Newcastle United and Premier League duo West Ham and Wigan are among those clubs keeping tabs on the striker, prolific at youth team level but yet to score a senior goal.

Athletic say they have heard nothing to suggest there is any truth to such stories, but the club will be entitled to compensation if Eaves does decide to head off to pastures new.

“We don’t anticipate him going,” said Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy. “We believe he will stay here in order to continue his development with us.”

Meanwhile, Athletic may discover the identity of another opponent for next season tonight.

Crystal Palace can relegate Sheffield Wednesday to League One by beating promoted West Brom at Selhurst Park.

Any other result will leave Palace and Wednesday battling it out to avoid the drop in a final-day showdown at Hillsborough on Sunday.

Already confirmed as relegated to League One are Peterborough and Plymouth, while Bourne-mouth have joined Rochdale and Notts County as the teams automatically promoted from League Two.




ATHLETIC have two reserve-team games in as many days, starting with a Manchester Senior Cup tie against Stockport tonight.



The match, an away tie which is being played at the usual home venue of Ewen Fields (7pm kick-off), is likely to feature a team mainly made up of youngsters.

Lee Duxbury will be concentrating more on his team’s Lancashire Senior Cup semi-final away at Preston tomorrow afternoon (2pm Kick-off), with the prize for the winners a final appearance against Liverpool with the game taking place in pre-season.