On the move

Dale Stephens: on the move

ATHLETIC got stuck back in to pre-season training today without star midfielder Dale Stephens , who was expected to complete a £375,000 move to npower League One rivals Charlton.


The 21-year-old will sign a three-year deal at the Valley, with some of the transfer fee — which is officially an undisclosed amount — going into Athletic boss Paul Dickov’s budget for the forthcoming campaign. Burnley were also thought to be involved in the race for Stephens’ signature.



“There was interest from other clubs, but Charlton’s was the only serious offer we received,” said Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy.



Athletic will lose around £75,000 of the fee for Bolton-born Stephens. This sum heads to Bury by way of a 20-per-cent sell-on clause included in the agreement which saw him arrive at Boundary Park three years ago.



Loaned out to Rochdale at the start of the 2009-10 season, Stephens barely had a sniff of first-team action until injuries forced then-boss Dave Penney’s hand.



Making his first meaningful appearance at Norwich in December, 2009, from then on the technically-gifted midfielder has been virtually an ever-present.



Scoring 10 goals last season while assuming the vice-captaincy, he signed a new three-year deal and formed a heralded partnership with Dean Furman in team’s engine room before opting to take up the chance of a loan switch to Southampton towards the end of the campaign once Athletic’s play-off hopes had evaporated.



The departure of Stephens leaves a big hole for Dickov to fill, as Athletic continue to experience frustration in the player market.



While Charlton, who also snapped up Dagenham winger Danny Green, have made a total of eight new signings, Athletic have thus-far brought in just one in the shape of promising forward Matt Smith.



There was good news yesterday as left-back Paul Black penned a one-year extension, which contracts him to Athletic until the end of the 2011-12 season.



But the club still awaits news on centre-back Jean-Yves Mvoto, who has not yet given Athletic his verdict on the offer put to him of a permanent contract.