Futch is set to stay whether he wants to or not

By Nathan Jackson
July 1 2004

It's looking increasingly likely that Ben Futcher will still be a City player at the start of the new season as after over a month after handing in his transfer request, the club hasn't recieved a single bid despite reported interest from several clubs.

It was only days after the Imps Playoff exit to Huddersfield that Futcher handed in a transfer request as he felt he could be challenged at a higher level. Despite the Imps board accepting the transfer request, they warned other teams that he wouldn't come on the cheap putting an unrealistic price on his head at £200,000.

Hull City, Cardiff City, Bolton Wanderers and Aston Villa were all said to be interested but nothing has emerged from the latter 3. Peter Taylor, manager of Hull, admitted he was interested in signing Futcher but was put off signing him because of the price tag and instead, opted for Southend's Leon Cort.

It is looking increasingly likely that Futcher will start pre-season with the Imps and will more than likely line up against City "rivals", Lincoln United on the 10th of July instead of what he'd hoped, had been a higher league club.

Futcher has scored 11 league goals in 2 years at Sincil Bank and we'd have wished him well on a future transfer but I can't see it happening whilst the ridiculous £200,000 price tag remains on his head.