Weather
ROVERS: Citko says no
From the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, first published Wednesday 12th Feb 1997.
WIDZEW Lodz striker Marek Citko finally dashed Blackburn Rovers' hopes of bringing him to England last night, when he turned down a move for personal reasons.
It leaves Rovers to start again from scratch in the search to boost their attacking resources for the relegation run-in.
And time is starting to run out.
But no other clubs are thought to be involved in Citko's decision, despite speculation that Arsenal, West Ham and Sunderland were all interested.
The player has said quite categorically that he is staying in Poland for the time being.1 Rovers had agreed a £2.75 million fee with Widzew Lodz after negotiations which had dragged on for some time.
And they were optimistic they could have wrapped up the deal in talks with the player this week.
They had even gone to the trouble of applying for a work permit over a week ago, once the fee had been agreed.
But, in extraordinary circumstances last night, Citko announced at a Press conference in Poland that he would be staying put, at least until June.
Accompanied by his own recently-appointed personal press officer (!) - apparently he does not like talking to journalists - the international star revealed that his decision was nothing to do with money.
He said it concerned personal issues and loyalty.
"I am staying in Widzew with the club to which I owe so much," he said. "I am not concerned with financial matters and I want to help my club win the championship and the cup."
Widzew Lodz president Andrzej Pawelec said that he fully understood the player's decision.
"Widzew can afford not to sell him," he added.
I can also reveal that, if any clubs - including Rovers - hope to snap up Citko on a free transfer in summer, when his present contract ends, they are likely to be disappointed.
For he also stated that he would probably sign a new deal with Widzew Lodz in the next couple of months - to enable them to obtain a transfer fee if he was, eventually, to move abroad.
Citko stressed his loyalty to his present club.
It's fair to say that Rovers will monitor the situation, but they accept that there's nothing doing for the moment.
And, by summer, they could well be in a different ball game altogether.
They will remain in the market for top-class players but really need attacking re-inforcements now.
With the transfer deadline coming up next month, the situation takes on greater urgency.
Rovers had reason to believe they had the Citko deal sorted, but that can be one of the hazards of bringing in players from abroad.
The problem is that a number of clubs are looking to buy strikers but available targets are in very short supply in this country.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
