Shola away

It looks as if our already depleted squad is about to experience another departure, leaving us with just the new target of the boo-boys, Alan Smith, as our sole fit 'striker` going into the game against the Mancs at Old Trafford.

Shola Ameobi is set to head off to Ipswich to move to the Tractor Boys, with manager Jim Magilton commenting:

'Shola is not having a medical but we have spoken to his agent and we're in the process of talking. Shola is a player with immense promise but at 26 he needs to start fulfilling it. He has to decide what he wants to do. If he wants to hang around and then wait to go on a free then it's entirely down to him.

If he wants to come and show desire to come and play at Championship level then we would certainly be interested in taking him. Charlie and Bobby Robson know him chapter and verse so it would be daft of me not to have spoken to them. Bobby obviously liked him when he was at Newcastle and sometimes it's hard to ignore someone of his vast experience.

Glenn Roeder obviously knows him - I think he is an admirer. Shola has got great ability - it's a matter of harnessing all that ability on a sustained run. He has made fifty starts and he has played a lot of games coming off the bench due to having your Shearers, Bellamys and Kluiverts in front of him.

At the end of the day he has not played an awful lot of games and it's probably time he did. I've got to show our ambition and see where the land lies with him. But I would also want to see a burning ambition from him to go back up to the next level."

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