12:41pm Friday 12th January 2007
By Andy Neild
DAVID Dunn could sign for Bolton Wanderers in the next 24 hours unless Blackburn Rovers mount a last-ditch bid to hijack the deal.
Telegraph Sport understands the former Rovers star met Bolton boss Sam Allardyce for talks yesterday and also underwent a stringent medical after Birmingham accepted a bid of £1 million from Wanderers, with a further £1 million on top based on appearances.
Rovers must now decide whether to match that offer or run the risk of losing the 27-year-old to their arch north west rivals.
Dunn would prefer a move to Ewood ahead of a switch to the Reebok, but Rovers manager Mark Hughes is reluctant to meet Birmingham's demands for a player who has made just 53 starts in the last three and a half years.
Blues boss Steve Bruce said: "He has problems with his family life up north. That is genuine.
"So it might be in both our interests that I get a few quid in, spend it on someone else and then off we go again. It will be an amicable goodbye.
He added: "It's a shame Dunny has had so many injury problems here because he is a special player, someone who is part of a dying breed, and in his first few months here you saw the influence he can have on a team.
"If people like Dunny, Mikael Forssell, Muzzy Izzet and Matthew Upson had stayed fit last season, we would have been a far better team and I am convinced we would have stayed in the Premiership.
"The club has spent millions on Dunny, buying him, trying to get him right, trying to get him on the pitch.
"He is also a decent wage earner. A change of scenery might do him good."
* What's your view? Have your say by submitting your comments below
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk