THE CONFUSION surrounding James McClean's proposed move to English League Two side Lincoln City continued yesterday with the players' agent Gerry Carlisle demanding special dispensation so the winger can complete a move from the Brandywell.
The Creggan native travelled to the Sincil Stadium last week hoping to conclude a deal that would have seen ‘Imps’ manager and former Celtic star Chris Sutton include him in the squad for Saturday’s scoreless derby with Grimsby.
However, the FAI b
locked the move until the transfer window opens in January despite Carlisle claiming the player is now a free agent and thus entitled to be earning a wage.
With speculation that McClean may have had a change of heart about the transfer, it remains unclear where the talented star will be playing his football next season, especially with Stephen Kenny now confirmed back at Brandywell Stadium.
The player’s agent however claimed 'common sense must prevail' given the extraordinary circumstances.
“Some of the Derry City players haven't been paid in 11 weeks and they have been told they are free agents,” explained the Belfast based agent.
'But I have been told they can't sign for another club until the transfer window opens. I understand there are rules but surely this is a special case. Lincoln have now told me that the FA will be in touch with FIFA to try to sort the situation out.
'It is a ludicrous. The players have been punished enough. That is another six weeks the players will be denied the opportunity to earn a living.
'We have the FAI looking for a moral judgement from FIFA and the French FA following Thierry Henry's hand-ball but they are prepared to leave players without any money in the in the run-up to Christmas - and you are not talking about players who were being paid £10,000 per week at Derry City.
'Where is the morality in that? The players have mortgages and bills to pay and some of them are spiralling into debt. Common sense must prevail and it is a matter of urgency.”
For his part, Sutton remains a fan of the young Derry player and he is hopeful a deal can be concluded.
"We would have liked to have got the deal done before Saturday’s game," admitted the Lincoln boss.
"But there's an issue with his club, Derry City, who have just gone into administration. That's where the issues lie and we're trying to resolve them. These are some major issues which might sound straight forward, but they're not.
“That said, if we can get McClean in, it would be a really good signing for us. He's a Northern Ireland under-21 international and we've known about him for a while.
“He played in the games against Germany and the Czech Republic recently and did particularly well. He knows the position, he can play and we're hopeful we can get the deal done," he added.
