NO WORK PERMIT FOR YAKUBU! haha!
NO WORK PERMIT FOR YAKUBU
Middlesbrough new boy Aiyegbeni Yakubu is still to be awarded a work permit.
The 22-year-old Nigeria international is due to become a Boro player on Friday when he is expected to complete his £7.5million move from Portsmouth.
However, he has not played the required 75% of matches for his country in the last two years and therefore does not qualify automatically for a work permit.
The Teessiders, while not unduly concerned by the situation and were not commenting on the matter on Monday, are understood not to have made their application yet and are continuing to gather the relevant information before doing so.
Boro have requested a letter from the Nigerian Football Association to confirm that Yakubu would have played the required number of games had he not been involved in a dispute over a curfew infringement while on international duty.
They know that the initial application must fail because he does not meet the criteria, but they are now building up a case to support their appeal, which they are confident of winning.
The Teessiders have done that successfully in the past with Alen Boksic and Juninho, although a move for South African international Benni McCarthy failed when he was refused a permit.
There is no immediate urgency with the start of the new season more than six weeks away, although the Boro squad is due to report back for pre-season training next Monday and will fly out to the Algarve for a week two days later.
Meanwhile, the Teessiders were maintaining a silence too over claims that they have given midfielder Boudewijn Zenden a week to decide whether or not he wants to stay at the Riverside Stadium.
The 28-year-old Dutchman's one-year contract expires this week, and although he has been offered a lucrative new two-year deal, he is yet to accept it.
Zenden's father and agent, Pierre, has revealed Liverpool's interest in the former PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona and Chelsea player, while Benfica have also been linked with a move for him.
Boro believe the Portuguese side will struggle to match the terms they have offered him and are hopeful that, just as he did last summer, he will eventually agree to stay.
However, if he opts to move on, manager Steve McClaren will need to find a replacement, and with time running down, there is little doubt that he will want an answer soon.
Boro have been trailing Juventus' Stephen Appiah for some time, but they wanted him in addition to Zenden and are now starting to line up alternatives just in case.
