Heckingbottom sure Yiadom is hungry to show best form
HEAD COACH Paul Heckingbottom is confident that Andy Yiadom will remain fully committed to Barnsley despite rejecting a new Oakwell deal.
The former Barnet captain, out of contract next summer and subject of a recent, failed bid from Huddersfield Town, has turned down a new contract to make him one of the club’s best-paid players.
Despite rumours regarding talk of a fresh bid from Town, with Swansea and Reading also linked, Heckingbottom insists that Yiadom will stay focused on his Reds commitments.
Heckingbottom said: “I will say one thing, he is very focused and driven and wants to do his best.
“He was in this situation at Barnet when he rejected a contract and stayed on the money he was on to earn a move.
“One thing is for sure, we will have a hungry player on our hands who is trying to impress everybody to earn the best possible contract where he can, whether it is here or elsewhere.”
Expressing personal disappointment at Yiadom’s decision, and adamant he will not be sold on the cheap either, the Reds’ head coach added: “It has obviously disappointed me. But he could have signed a new deal and then be sold in two weeks anyway.
“So it makes no (real) odds to me. If he is going to see his deal out and I have got him for this season, I will be delighted with that.
“I don’t think with anyone with less than 12 months (left), you are going to get true value.
“He is only going to get better and is a great lad as well and has played two positions for us. You can see his value.
“If he went, we would have to bring in two new players on two salaries and they would have to not weaken the team and that can cost a lot of money, so in that sense, you need a lot of money for ‘Yids’ back.”
Barnsley completed the signing of Blackpool’s Brad Potts on a three-year deal last night. HULL CITY head coach Leonid Slutsky admits an unsettling summer featuring no fewer than eight senior players departing has been a new experience.
The Tigers head to Aston Villa and a reunion with former manager Steve Bruce tomorrow following a close season that has brought not only those high profile departures, but also plenty of speculation over the futures of Sam Clucas and Abel Hernandez.
“This is new,” said Slutsky. “I worked in Russia with CSKA (Moscow) and it is the biggest club. Each player dreamed of playing for CSKA.
“Every season we sold players, but it was the best players going overseas. Serious players, serious prices. But it was only ever one or two players per summer.
“We had six or seven players that stayed for more than 10 years with the team. It was a very solid team that played all the time together.
“This is my first experience of this, but I understand the situation. Maybe only Newcastle have been relegated in recent seasons and kept all the squad. Usually, like Sunderland and Hull, there is a lot of gossip about players leaving.”
The Tigers chief still wants to bring in several new faces, but he admits that the closing of the window will also come as a relief.
“I am very excited for September,” said the former Russia manager. “Every day I have fingers crossed with this because there is a lot of gossip. Sometimes, it is a distraction. You saw in Portugal (on Hull’s pre-season camp) when every day a player was leaving.
“That was very disappointing and it became a serious distraction for the team. It was difficult to have a good motivation in each training session when you think maybe I am also leaving.
“I understand why, but I have spoken with the owner and I hope the market is closed.”