Published: Friday, 5th September, 2008 10:00
Doyle puts speculation behind him
By Anthony Smith
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Hot property: Kevin Doyle's move back to the Premier League never materialised
KEVIN Doyle has spoken of his relief at the closure of the transfer window following intense speculation surrounding several Reading players.
Doyle struck his first treble in professional football last weekend to guide the Royals to a 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace.
The 24-year-old striker has been linked with Aston Villa and Sunderland throughout the summer and this week he was rumoured to be a target for Tottenham Hotspur.
It is believed Villa offered £5 million weeks ago but that was rejected and Reading insist they received no fresh offers for the Republic of Ireland forward.
Doyle said: “It’s a relief. Four months of this, that and the other, so I’m glad it’s over.
“The last month was especially bad. It’s been wrecking my head a bit so it’s good to get back to business with Reading and concentrate on getting back into the Premier League.
“There were different times during the summer when I thought I was going to different clubs so, in the end, I wasn’t 100% confident that something would happen.
“It came down to the last day but it didn’t happen, so forget about it.”
However, Doyle does not hide his burning desire to return to play in the top flight again one day.
“I’d love to be playing in the Premier League – I’ve said that all along,” he admitted. “I thought I was going to get my chance again but it’s up to me now to help Reading get back up as soon as possible.
“It’s not a place I hated and wanted to leave or anything, but I wanted to play in the Premier League.
“It didn’t happen in the end. Things have to be right and they were not.”
Royals boss Steve Coppell had drawn up contingency plans to cope with Doyle’s possible departure. “We were on standby in case we lost a player,” he explained. “I’m not stupid, I knew some clubs would make panic buys based on poor results. If we lost key players, we had ones we could bring in.
“But we had no positive calls about Kevin Doyle. As always there are agents trying to spark things but, from club-to-club, there was no business.
“Nobody has phoned this club and offered money for Kevin Doyle for weeks.”
It is also believed Reading were ready to make a move for Crystal Palace central midfielder Ben Watson to replace James Harper in case Middlesbrough came back with an improvement on their £3 million offer.
Director of football Nick Hammond explained: “We had some bits and pieces lined up just in case we lost players. The button was ready to press but, as it happens, there was no official interest.
“Potentially we will continue to track our targets, although it all hinges on how the team performs between now and the January transfer window.
“We still have the opportunity to loan players if we need to but Steve Coppell is very happy with the squad.”
Reading are without a game this weekend due to international fixtures.
Doyle, Hunt and Shane Long are in the Ireland squad to face Georgia in Mainz, Germany this Saturday before travelling to Montenegro next Wednesday.
Andre Bikey travels to Cape Verde for a World Cup qualifier and Jimmy Kebe will represent Mali in a qualifier against Congo.
At under 21 level, Simon Church is set to play for Wales in a crucial qualifier against Romania, Jem Karacan is in the Turkey side to face Armenia and the Czech Republic, while Gylfi Sigurdsson’s Iceland u21 are up against Austria and Slovakia.
Royals return to Championship action on September 13 with a trip to Ipswich Town (3pm).
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