Graham Turner braced for James Collins fee battle
Boss Graham Turner is braced for a Football League tribunal to decide the compensation Shrewsbury Town will receive for departed leading scorer James Collins.
Boss Graham Turner is braced for a Football League tribunal to decide the compensation Shrewsbury Town will receive for departed leading scorer James Collins.
The 16-goal former Aston Villa hitman turned down a new two-year-deal at the Greenhous Meadow last week and elected to join Swindon, ending a month of speculation concerning his future.
With Collins under the age of 24, Shrewsbury will be entitled to compensation from their League One rivals under the Bosman Ruling.
But Turner is not convinced that a mutual agreement will be struck between the two clubs, increasing the likelihood that a tribunal will be required.
“Wednesday was the first time we started talking (with Swindon) about a fee,” said Turner, speaking publically for the first time about the departure of the Republic of Ireland under 21 striker.
“We had no correspondence from them (before that) and we are waiting an offer.
“They know what we are looking for and I would think the chances of it finishing at a tribunal are quite high.
“We value James as a young player with stacks of potential and he is already a proven goalscorer at League level, so we will wait and see what Swindon’s reactions are to the situation.”
Turner admitted he was disappointed that Collins – who spent 18 months at the Greenhous Meadow – had elected to move on.
“I thought we had a good chance of him staying here but he has looked for pastures new and we wish him well,” he said.
“He played a part in the achievements we had last season and has decided to look elsewhere.
“Nobody is indispensable. We have to get those goals (he scored) from somewhere and replace them and there are things we are working on at the moment.
“We are getting closer to finalising a number of players coming into the club. We have offers out to them and their agents and we are just waiting for the nod for them to accept what we have offered.”
Turner has confirmed Shrewsbury will attend a pre-season training camp at RAF Shawbury for the second successive summer.
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