Mick loses battle to sign Connolly

Mick McCarthy appears to have lost out in the race to sign West Ham's highly rated striker David Connolly.

It's been rumoured for a while now that Sunderland were in the running to sign the Irish international for a fee of around £0.5m but Leicester City announced today that Connolly will be signing for them instead, subject to them agreeing personal terms and the player passing a medical.

Connolly, 27, began his career at Watford scored 42 goals in 63 league starts during his time at Wimbledon, then moved West Ham last summer. But in 2003/04 he netted only 10 times from 42 league starts and was said to have fallen out with manager Alan Pardew.

Micky Adams, manager of the newly-relegated midlands side, said of Connolly's anticipated signing, "This move for a player like this shows those who may have written us off in the transfer stakes should think again."