The Star (Jamaica)

Sheffield Wednesday want Jamaican defender Hector

- ROBERT BAILEY LIVINGSTON SCOTT

English championsh­ips team Sheffield Wednesday is on the verge of signing Jamaican defender Michael Hector from Chelsea.

However, it is understood that Sheffield are struggling to meet Chelsea’s valuation of Hector ahead of today’s transfer deadline in England.

The 27-year-old Hector had a very impressive loan spell with Wednesday last season where he made 39 appearance­s in all competitio­ns and was named the club’s championsh­ip club player of the year.

Wednesday have been trying desperatel­y to sign Hector this summer with many of team’s supporters urging the club to bring back the lanky central defender on a permanent contract.

Wednesday’s caretaker boss, Lee Bullen, said that there is a chance that his club could sign Hector, but he admitted that the financial

implicatio­ns of the move could make it difficult.

“Michael loved his time here, but we’re also mindful of financial aspects of every sort of deal that we’re looking at,” said Bullen.

“He’s well-liked here by supporters, but, obviously, he’s coming from a mega club in Chelsea, who have a valuation on their players,” he said.

Hector, who has made 24 appearance­s for the Reggae Boyz so far, has never made a competitiv­e appearance for Chelsea after four loan moves in recent seasons.

The defender was signed by Chelsea from Reading in 2015 for £4 million, but a number of the past coaches have not been able to find a space in the team for Hector, including Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.

However, it is understood that Chelsea want to recoup the £4 million they paid for Hector fouryears ago as his contract is set to expire next summer.

Bent says that Murray not only fits the club’s playing style perfectly, but that he eagerly wants to advance his profession­al career and believes that Waterhouse is the best club for him to do so.

In return, the club is convinced that Murray, last season joint-top scorer, can get them the goals they need to get over the hump locally and internatio­nally.

“Colorado is a unique player. He is a young, humble player with good work ethics. Even before he moved to Waterhouse, we had conversati­ons, and, based on his mindset of where he wants to go in his profession­al career. He thinks it would be as good place for him, and since he has been here, it has just been mprovement,” Bent stated.

Murray was joint-topscorer last season with 12 goals, the same as Portmore’s Javon East and his new teammate, Tremaine Stewart. “He will definitely add more goals to Tremaine’s and others. He will push other players to improve, and the competitio­n in the squad will also increase,” Bent continued.

“But the very fact that Waterhouse has been to two different finals under two different leadership would have highlighte­d the fact that he wants to be among a championsh­ip-winning team. Other clubs would have gone after him, but he chose Waterhouse team, and based on how we play and the style we play, Colorado would have fitted in.”

Bent said that at a recent practice game against St George’s College (albeit schoolboys), the player looked right at home in their system of play, and he hopes that the player can start proving his quality as soon as the Concacaf League quarter final first leg against HS Herediano of Costa Rica on August 22.

“How he played in that game showed he fits the team well, and being that he has not played at this (internatio­nal club) level before means he is raring to go in this competitio­n, and when you are at the internatio­nal level, anything can happen (for career), and he can make his mark there,” Bent said.

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