Charlton boss Lee Bowyer claims ultimatums issued over Alfie Doughty – as winger the subject of transfer tussle
Lee Bowyer says Charlton will not be rushed into a deal for Alfie Doughty – with at least one other unnamed club joining the chase for the winger.
Stoke City made their move for the 21-year-old this week with Addicks owner Thomas Sandgaard confirming they were in discussions.
But the US-based Dane also told our paper that there was rival interest for Doughty, whose terms run out at the end of June.
Scottish side Celtic had failed with a number of offers at the end of the last transfer window.
Doughty is not expected to return from a torn hamstring until the end of February.
Bowyer said: “I don’t know why it has to move quickly. I don’t think there is any rush. The agent is trying to rush it through – he tried to give us an ultimatum yesterday of 24 hours. Then it was 12 hours.
“I think it will happen when the time is right and the deal is right for the football club. We want the right deal and if we get that it will happen quickly – if we don’t then it won’t.
“Agents, and I’m not just talking about Alfie’s, they think they own players and not the club. They try and make those threats ‘you’ve got 24 hours or I take him cross-border’. Come on, you can take him cross-border on February 1 or March 1. Why do you have to do it now? They are just threats to get the deal done.
“But for us as a club, we have to make sure that this is the best deal we can get. That’s what we’re doing.
“There is more than one club interested in him. Again we will get the best deal we can for the club. We’ll sit down with Alfie and see what he thinks. That’s the right thing to do.”
PHOTO: PAUL EDWARDS
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I think it has all been said before by many people that the ‘agents’ are a pain in the backside although I accept it is their job to get the best deal for their player. However, what has also been said is that Alfie is yet another player who has been given the chance by the club to play 1st team football and then after 20 games, they want out. No loyalty to his manager, coaching staff or team mates, just more money ! As I have stated before, he may not come back the player he was, his type of hamstring problem can be very serious. Alfie’s greatest asset is his pace, take that away and you have an ordinary player. Charlton might take the gamble and release him and then find they did the right thing. We will see.