What a few months it's been for Shane Duffy. He eventually got away from Everton's reserves, has established himself at Blackburn Rovers - and ended the Euros as Ireland's first choice centre-back.
It's no wonder that Celtic and a number of Premier League teams are interested - especially with Duffy entering the last year of his contract. It doesn't put Rovers in a great position, and they could look to cash in on Duffy while the iron is hot.
But Coyle really doesn't want to. The former Ireland international wants to keep the current Irish international, and is trying to open up contract talks amid all the interest. Speaking about midfielder Ben Marshall who is also out of contract - Coyle was adamant he wants the pair to stay:
Ben’s a wonderfully talented player and I have indicated to him, as I will with Shane Duffy and anybody in that situation, that at Blackburn Rovers we’d love to have them here. All we can do is enter into that dialogue, present something to the players and their representatives, and see where we go from there.
Coyle doesn't sound overly confident about keeping either player, and Rovers have already rejected bids for the Irish international. If he rejects a new deal, you can expect him not to be at Ewood Park at the start of the season.
[Lancashire Telegraph]
See Also: Another Irish International Looks Set To Be On The Move
Photo by David Maher/Sportsfile
