Rooney talking to teams in England
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ADAM Rooney could yet stay at Caley Thistle, but that will depend upon a potential move to England failing to materialise.
The striker is currently speaking to several clubs down south as he contemplates ending his three-year stint with Inverness.
Rooney, who has hit 54 goals in 125 appearances since joining Caley Thistle from Stoke City in the summer of 2008, has been offered a new one-year contract by the Highland Capital club, who have not given up hope of retaining the Irishman’s services, despite his present deal expiring.
“Adam is talking to clubs down south, but he has made it clear that if he can’t agree anything then he would be quite keen to come back and sign for us,” said Inverness assistant manager Maurice Malpas.
“Adam is looking for certain things, not financially, but professionally, from these clubs, so we are leaving the door open for him if nothing happens in England.
“It’s within his rights to speak to clubs, but Adam has been very professional by keeping us informed of what’s happening.
“I don’t know who he has spoken to or anything like that, but I would imagine it would be clubs in the Championship or at the top end of League One.
“From our perspective, however, the good thing is that he hasn’t blown us out the water.”
The news that Tade (24) had agreed to sign a one-year deal at Caley Thistle fuelled speculation that the Frenchman, who left Raith Rovers at the end of the season, was a direct replacement for the Rooney, but Malpas is adamant this is not the case.
“There’s seems to have been the suggestion that with Gregory signing then Adam is going to leave, but we still hope that Adam signs,” he said.
“We wanted to bring Gregory in because he offers us a different option upfront to what we already have at the club.
“We felt last season there was perhaps too much onus on Adam and Richie (Foran) to score goals and that we were limited if we wanted to change it, so that’s why we’ve went for Gregory.
“Both myself and Terry (Butcher, Caley Thistle manager) have seen him quite a lot last season and we were impressed by the fact he has a direct style of play, as well as being a powerful runner.
“He’s a young player who will come here with the bit between his teeth feeling he has something to prove, but while we’ve brought in a couple of younger players so far, we would like to get one or two older heads to add to the squad as well.”
Tade is Caley Thistle’s second summer signing after former Stockport County midfielder Greg Tansey (22) joined on a 12-month deal last week.
With Butcher currently on holiday, however, any further transfer activity is unlikely to take place until he returns towards the end of next week.
Meanwhile, Ross Tokely and Kenny Gillet are expected to sign on for another year, while Shane Sutherland has agreed a two-year deal. All three were out of contract at the end of the last campaign.
But Inverness have not heard back yet from Stuart Duff with regards to extending his stay at the city club for another year.?
