Frontman Jay Bothroyd mulls over Leeds United move
HIGH-FLIER: Leeds United target Jay BothroydJay Bothroyd's one and only contribution to the history of Leeds United was to provide the catalyst for the sacking of Kevin Blackwell two years ago.
His searing finish at Elland Road in 2006 – the sole flash of brilliance at the end of a mundane league match between Leeds and Wolverhampton Wanders – sent United's axe swinging for Blackwell as the club's third season in the Championship disintegrated before September was out.
The 1-0 victory presented to Wolves by Bothroyd's top-corner strike from 25 yards prompted cries of 'Blackwell, Blackwell time to go' inside Elland Road, and Ken Bates heeded the calls by relieving his manager of control of the first team less than a fortnight later.
Bothroyd has not appeared at Elland Road since, but in the coming days United's present manager hopes to discover whether the striker will decide to re-associate himself with Leeds by agreeing to join Gary McAllister's squad.
United have completed one half of the transfer after meeting Wolves' valuation of the player – the club had submitted a bid which is understood to be clause-related and could potentially rise to around £300,000 – but neither Leeds nor their counterparts at Molineux consider the move to be a done deal.
The arrival of Bothroyd would improve an area of United's squad which McAllister identified as a priority while planning for this summer's transfer market, but the challenge for United's boss will be persuading a forward who has passed through the Premier League and Serie A, while never falling beneath the Championship, that joining League One is in his best interests.
Bothroyd's time as an active first-team player with Wolves is at an end, a fact reiterated by his exclusion from the club's pre-season tour of Scotland, and though interest in the transfer-listed striker has been limited this summer, McAllister would take him on willingly if Leeds can reach agreement with Bothroyd over personal terms.
The striker is presently earning around £8,000 a week at Wolves and would be asked to take a pay cut at Elland Road.
But his cool response to United's bid – Bothroyd is said to be deeply uncertain over leaving Wolves for Yorkshire – has not fostered optimism at either club that an agreement will be reached, and McAllister may be required to consider a contingency plan with the start of the League One season fewer than three weeks away.
A source close to Bothroyd said: "The thing that Jay will probably be asking himself is whether or not he should step down into League One.
"He's played at a high level all the way through his career and dropping to that league might take a bit of getting his head around."
Bothroyd has another year remaining on his contract with Wolves, but he started only 13 league games last season and looks unlikely to feature again while McCarthy remains in charge at Molineux.
The touring squad named by McCarthy last week did not include Bothroyd, and the striker completed 90 minutes in a reserve-team friendly against Chasetown while his senior team-mates were making the final preparations for their journey north of the border.
McCarthy opted to sell Freddy Eastwood to Coventry City earlier this month, temporarily weakening his pool of strikers, but the capture of Chris Iwelumo from Charlton Athletic three days later kept Bothroyd on the fringes of Wolves' squad.
He finished last season on loan at Stoke City, though the Potters' promotion to the Premier League appeared to end any possibility of a permanent deal at the Britannia Stadium, but while McCarthy appears unwilling to rely on Bothroyd, McAllister is keen to take on a player who worked under him at Coventry City.
The West Midlands club are one of seven who have employed the 26-year-old, either permanently or on a temporary basis, and the potential which saw him launch his career as a trainee with Arsenal before moving on to Blackburn Rovers and Italian club Perugia has never been truly fulfilled.
His most productive season – the 2002-03 term – saw him score 11 times for Coventry, but McAllister is hoping that Bothroyd's arrival will help to provide the necessary support for Jermaine Beckford, United's top scorer last season.
Beckford has looked sharp and confident during the early stages of pre-season, and the three goals he produced in Leeds' first two friendlies prompted McAllister to call for another 20-goal haul from the 24-year-old next season.
United's manager, however, is anxious to prevent Beckford from carrying excessive responsibility up front and having recruited Enoch Showunmi from Bristol City, he is still planning a further two additions to his collection of strikers before the season begins at Scunthorpe United.
Speaking after Beckford scored both goals in Leeds' 2-0 victory over Galway United last week, McAllister said: "We need to get a bit more help in and around him. I'd still like a bit more firepower."
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