Boreham Wood Football club chairman Danny Hunter has denied that the club have accepted an offer, or done a deal with Portsmouth and their manager Kenny Jackett for star frontman Bruno Andrade.
However, the Chairman did acknowledge, that Andrade had recently spent a few days down on the south coast, with Jackett and the Pompey first team.
Hunter said: “It’s a shame somebody keeps leaking this stuff to the media as it’s an unwelcome distraction and I hope it’s not agent led. Things at any stage when a pro club shows an interest in a player should remain private in my opinion. Because, loose lips can often unsettle the player, unsettle a manager and unsettle a dressing room.
“That said, the media people who are doing their job by writing these articles, must be getting their information from somewhere? But, it’s certainly not coming from here. So, I want to clear up certain misconceptions that our staff, sponsors and supporters are maybe reading from these anonymous press releases.
“Yes, it’s true that Bruno did go down to Portsmouth for a few days, yes, it’s true it was arranged through myself, Luke and Kenny Jackett and yes it was very much with our permission.
“It’s also true I believe, that they like Bruno, both as a person and as a player, but at this stage there is absolutely nothing more to it. It’s certainly not true that we have held any further discussions since and it’s not true that we have accepted a Pompey offer.
“It was also reported that we have spoken with Peterborough and that’s also completely untrue. In fact, as far as I know there has not been an enquiry from them, and, as I know Barry Fry pretty well, he’d simply pick up the phone to me, I’m sure, if they were interested.
“It’s certainly not true that I’m ready to sanction any deal in the foreseeable future, or, that we are looking for a deal to be done in January – unless the boy could remain with us until the season’s end. We are quietly ambitious ourselves and we have set our own targets this season. It’s only October, a bit of FA Cup glory for the town is still possible, and the transfer window doesn’t even open up again until January.
“We all accept that Bruno is an exceptional talent, but I hope that he trusts me to ultimately do what’s best for him, the dressing room and the football club. I’m nobody’s fool, and as Bruno is the National League’s top goal scorer with 11 goals in 17 games, interest in him will continue over the coming months.
“We’ve got a player who can do things others can’t, and when you’ve got a player who’s made his debut at just 17 in the Premiership, under Neil Warnock, then people know he has a pedigree. He’s now matured, understands what it’s like to graft in men’s football and he’s now scoring goals for fun.
“It all means that five or six clubs are going to be interested, and if Bruno can continue to work hard, maintain his focus, his consistency and continue to show the pro clubs that he possesses the correct attitude, discipline and desire to succeed; then he will not only improve as a player, he’ll improve as a person, he’ll light up our season and he’ll fulfil his dreams I’m sure.”
