Why we must sell Doyle and move on

The new Brendan Rodgers sign on Reading FC's manager's door is only just up and already we've had the first transfer rumour of the close season. We all know what to expect in the next couple of months: rumour, counter-rumour and absurd fantasies are the order of the day. With a new manager in position it's going to provide even more fertile ground for the gossip-mongers, and it'll be our 'big names' that become the subject of such idle speculation. Kevin Doyle is without doubt our prize asset, despite his erratic form last season he's a proven goal scorer at the top level and is an established International for the Republic of Ireland. In the past he's attracted interest from Aston Villa but this week it's Everton who might be interested. A £7m deal that involves his tousle-haired compatriot Stephen Hunt has been mooted, and even if the source is the Daily Star let's pause for a while to contemplate what such a move would mean for the football club. Firstly, if such a deal was in the offing it begs the question, 'who is valued at what in this'? Even die-hard fans of the terrier-winger would concede that Hunty Senior was pretty dreadful for at least 75% of last season, so surely his stock has fallen dramatically since the Toffees were rumoured to be interested last August. At one point he was supposedly worth around £3-4m, yep, we'd bite off an arm and more for that right now. A package deal that involved taking Doyler makes a lot of sense to any would-be suitor, with his (Doyle's) worth surely still around the £5m mark. Let's be honest here the chances are that he wants to leave and ply his trade at the highest level, and who can blame him for that? He signed a contract extension in January but it was no secret that he wanted to get back into the Premier League. We wouldn't want to lose him, but we have to face hard facts here, and BR already has. With at least one more season in the Championship we are prey to top flight clubs looking to bolster there squads with good value signings. Everton won't be banking on Doyle or Hunt, but they'd be tidy additions to a squad that will need bolstering should they wish to improve on their excellent 6th place finish last term. With Europa League thrown into that equation it makes even more sense; they don't have stacks of wonga to chuck around, so Championship quality represents limited risk and high returns should it work out. David Moyles certainly knows how to get the very best from limited resources.

If you believe that Brendan Rodgers is the man to get the most out of our youngsters and make a few shrewd signings of his own, then losing our star striker doesn't appear to be such a disaster. What's more Doyle has been hit and miss for sure in the last 18 months, and his style of play has been a little predictable. The pace isn't quite as explosive as it was, and to go most of this year without scoring tells its own tale, despite the inadequacies of the rest of the team. We need to bow to the inevitable and trust in Brendan to use the money from any sales wisely. Simon Church could be on the verge of breaking through, but the loss of Doyle would leave options up front a little limited. Shane Long, Noel Hunt & Kevin Mooney would, along with Church, be the sum total of our striking options throughout the squad. I can't believe we would offload Doyle without having a replacement lined up. Whatever happens it'll be an interesting summer...