Port Vale agree fee for Irish star

Port Vale have agreed a fee with Irish side Glenovan for midfielder Mark Sykes, making them the latest EFL club to look to the Emerald Isle for their talent.

The 21-year old has been in high demand, with Hibernian, Hearts, Oxford United and Blackburn hall having expressed interest recently. He’s been hugely impressive for Northern Ireland Under 21s, as well as his club side.

The deal is not yet done, those interested clubs can still approach the Irish side if they so desire, but as things stand he’s free to negotiate personal terms with Neil Aspin’s side.

Glenovan manager Gary Hamilton said.“I can confirm we have reached an agreement that suits all parties and it will now be down to Mark to discuss personal terms,”

“There has been a lot of interest in Mark in recent transfer windows but Port Vale came back with a second offer after we initially rejected their first one. I’ve said all along I wanted Mark to achieve his dream of making it in full-time football and as a club we were never going to stand in his way if the right offer was made.”

Sykes has been in terrific form this season, bagging three goals for his side from 18 matches for the Lurgan Blues.


Our View

Obviously, we’ve not seen much of Sykes play, but the influx of Irish talent is continuing after the announcement that Kieran Sadlier had signed for Doncaster.

It’s a rich vein of talent which is likely to be mined more extensively over the coming weeks, with several free agents still looking to chance their arm in the EFL.

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