So it would appear, we have our first rumour of the close season - albeit one that can be opened and closed in one easy go. Northern Ireland newspaper, the Sunday Life had claimed on the weekend that Linfield striker Mark McAllister was on his way to Yeovil Town for next season, shortly after scoring two goals to help his side lift the JJB Sports Irish Cup against Crusaders, winning Man of the Match in the process.
The Sunday paper claimed that the 23 year old former Dungannon Swifts player would be on his way to Huish Park on trial with a view to joining the Glovers. This has now caught the attention of the Belfast News Letter a day later, who contacted Linfield Chairman Jim Kerr for his views on a player who they paid £32,000 for, three and a half years ago. Kerr described it as 'fairytale rubbish', pointing out that they would expect a significant fee to be paid for their player:
"I don’t know where this speculation has come from. It is fairytale rubbish. Nobody from Yeovil or any other club has contacted Linfield or Mark. I can confirm that he will not be going anywhere on trial. We do not send our players, especially an experienced one like Mark McAllister, on trial.
"We paid £32,000 for Mark in 2009, but he would demand a sizeable fee now. I would expect that any interested clubs would make contact with Linfield first and go through the proper channels. But we have heard from nobody so I don’t understand where the story has come from."
For what it's worth, although the Glovers have employed scouts with contacts in Ireland frequently in the past - Stephen Maher being an obvious example - it seems unlikely that they would be bidding for a player that would command a significant transfer fee.
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7 May 2012 : 
