Derby County teenager Festy Ebosele. Image: Alamy Stock Photo Derby County teenager Festy Ebosele. Image: Alamy Stock Photo DERBY COUNTY MANAGER Wayne Rooney remains hopeful that the club can hold onto Ireland U21 international Festy Ebosele despite reports that he is close to joining Udinese.
18-year-old St Patrick’s Athletic defender James Abankwah signed for Udinese last month, while Shamrock Rovers youngster Kevin Zefi moved to Inter Milan in 2021 and Cork City defender Cathal Heffernan has agreed to join AC Milan, initially on loan with a view to making the switch permanent. “Hopefully the news we’ve had today on the Middlesbrough situation means we can start to get a contract in front of him, because we want to keep him.
The claim, along with a potential claim from Wycombe, have been held up as obstacles to selling the club to new owners. “Details of the accord shall remain private. However, it is important for all interested parties, including potential bidders, to be confident that the Middlesbrough claim will not be an impediment to Derby County progressing its plans for a sale of the club.”