Finidi «knows nothing» about english move

Reial Mallorca's Nigerian international winger Finidi George yesterday claimed he knew nothing of an offer from Ipswich Town and added it would take something special to prise him away from the island. Ipswich manager George Burley confirmed yesterday that Mallorca had accepted an offer for the player, thought to be in the region of £4 million, and that the Premier League club were now in negotiations with the player's agent. However, Finidi claimed he knew nothing of the offer and was adamant he wanted to stay with the club. “I love Palma and playing in the Spanish league. “My agent has said nothing to me and if there is anything then the club president (Mateu Alemany) will speak with me, because it is something that involves both sides, not just me. “It would take a very important offer for me to leave the club,” he added. Finidi, who told the Bulletin last month that if he ever moved clubs it would be to another Spanish team, has a contract until 2003 with a 5'000 million buy-out clause and obviously wants to stay to face a Champions League campaign with Mallorca. What the club wants though is a different matter, with Alemany saying last week that the club need to sell a player to offset the outlay for Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o who signed last Friday. Alemany is also looking to off-load a non-EU player, such as Finidi, due to the limit in Spanish league matches. Only three non-EU players can play at one time, and Mallorca currently has a surplus. It was widely thought that Argentine 'keeper Carlos Roa would be the player to go, but it seems his stock has dropped since his religious sabbatical two seasons ago and the club are having problems selling him. With Ipswich claiming that their offer has been accepted it looks as though Mallorca are happy to sell Finidi despite his wealth of Champions League experience - the player was instrumental in Ajax's triumph of 1995 - and his versatility.