Wanderers Reddy to snare unwanted Mariners keeper

The departure of discarded Central Coast goalkeeper Liam Reddy could be ratified as early as Monday, if he agrees to a payout offer in the wake of his irrevocable fallout with Mariners management.

Reddy

Western Sydney Wanderers are the front runners to sign Liam Reddy after his unceremonious exit from the Mariners Source: Getty Images

The 34 year-old shot-stopper's two-week ban for several internal misdemeanours - which centered on his disapproval of coach Tony Walmsley's gung-ho attacking ideology - ended on Thursday.

And with Western Sydney Wanderers considering the future of back-up keeper Dean Bouzanis, a move to Wanderland for Reddy could be on the cards if coach Tony Popovic gets his way.

Bouzanis, who has made just eight appearances since joining the Wanderers from Carlisle United 19 months ago, is under contract until the end of the season – but could be moved on before then.

Reddy could arrive at the Wanderers imminently, with the FFA likely to afford special dispensation for the goalkeeper to move outside the January transfer window in the light of his rejection by the Mariners.

The relationship between Reddy and the Mariners coaching staff is untenable and the club has given him until Monday to accept a severance package, believed to be around half of the money he is due for the remainder of his contract, which expires in June.

Walmsley was reluctant to comment on Reddy’s imminent exit when contacted, declaring he will just wait and see the situation “play itself out”.

But he has no doubts that his successor, 20 year-old Paul Izzo has shown enough in his three matches to date that he has the quality to flourish in the A-League, despite his tender years.

"He’s fantastic … he had a great game yesterday (in the 1-1 draw against Wellington)," he said.

"We brought him in to challenge for top spot and it came a bit sooner than he anticipated, or we all did, and we have every faith in him. He has a big future and a great maturity for his age."

With Reddy at the exit door, Walmsey is now in the hunt for a deputy for Izzo, with a shortlist of five having been drawn up, including one of Everton’s young Academy keepers.

That though could fall foul of FFA regulations which stipulate a visa player must be 20 years or older.

“We have a couple of young guys in our youth team who both have potential but wouldn’t be ready for an extended spell in the first team if Paul got injured or gets picked for the Olyroos," Walmsley added.

"He's a part of that Under-23's team which could mean he could be away for the whole of January, so we need to find somebody."


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3 min read
Published 9 November 2015 8:55am
Updated 9 November 2015 9:36pm
By David Lewis

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