Waterford FC have rejected what is believed to be a record-breaking \u20ac180,000 bid from Derry City for in-form striker Tommy Lonergan, with the Blues determined to keep hold of their leading attacking threat ahead of Friday night\u2019s trip to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.<\/p>\n
The Waterford News & Star understands that Derry\u2019s offer was one of four approaches made for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international, who has also attracted interest from Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians during the current transfer window.<\/p>\n
However, Waterford officials have made it clear that Lonergan is not for sale, with the 22-year-old viewed as central to the club\u2019s fight to preserve its SSE Airtricity Men\u2019s Premier Division status. The Blues remain bottom of the table, but there is a firm belief within the RSC that keeping Lonergan could prove decisive over the second half of the campaign.<\/p>\n
Lonergan has scored ten goals for Graham Coughlan\u2019s side this season and has carried an increasing burden in attack since the arrival of the new manager. His recent form was underlined last Friday when he struck twice in Waterford\u2019s win over Dundalk, a result that offered the Blues a timely lift in their battle at the foot of the division.<\/p>\n
The centre forward\u2019s improvement has been linked with a renewed sense of confidence under Coughlan, whose arrival has brought fresh energy to the squad. Waterford are understood to believe that Lonergan\u2019s goals, physical presence and ability to lead the line make him too valuable to lose at this stage of the season, regardless of the level of interest from elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Lonergan joined Waterford from sister club Fleetwood Town after previously moving cross-channel from St Patrick\u2019s Athletic. His progress has since placed him firmly back on the radar of leading League of Ireland clubs, with Derry City\u2019s interest particularly significant as Tiernan Lynch looks to strengthen his options.<\/p>\n
The timing of Derry\u2019s bid adds another layer to Friday night\u2019s fixture, with Lonergan set to travel north as the subject of rejected interest from the very club Waterford will face. The Brandywell encounter was already a major test for Coughlan\u2019s side, but the transfer subplot ensures that all eyes will be on the striker if he leads the line against Lynch\u2019s team.<\/p>\n
For now, Waterford\u2019s stance is firm. In a window where survival rivals and title contenders are all seeking reinforcements, the Blues have decided that Lonergan\u2019s value to their own cause outweighs the financial appeal of a record bid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Waterford FC have rejected what is believed to be a record-breaking \u20ac180,000 bid from Derry City for in-form…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528544,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-528543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}