U.S. midfielder John Harkes looks set to join one of two Premier League clubs from Derby County.
A long-awaited transfer is nearing fruition for John Harkes.
The U.S. midfielder, who left the Premier League for First Division club Derby County two years ago, expects a return to the top flight sometime this month.
Derby has sold off many of its top players since narrowly missing promotion at the end of the 1993-94 season, and Harkes appears ready to join the exodus that has led away Mark Pembridge, Paul Williams and Craig Short in the past few months.
Harkes confirmed that Coventry City and West Ham United are the teams in the running for his services. “At the moment, those are the only two,” he said. “Oh, and Inter Milan, of course.”
Harkes visited Milan and Lake Como in late September on the advice of Derby’s manager, Jim Smith. “He took me aside and asked me if I’d like a few days off to take a bit of a rest. I said, “Yeah.”
“We just drove around, relaxed and did some shopping. Mentally, it was good to get away, and I came back refreshed. I bought an Armani suit and an Armani jacket in Lugano [Switzerland] at great prices.”
Speaking of price, Harkes is valued at approximately 800,000 pounds ($1.28 million), and Major League Soccer is quietly negotiating a possible deal whereby the new league would purchase rights to Harkes although he’d be transferred to either Coventry or West Ham, with the acquiring club sharing the transfer fee.
He battled injuries last season, playing in 36 of Derby’s League and Cup games as the club finished ninth after selling off valuable commodities like Paul Kitson and Tommy Johnson.
Derby has started off poorly this season, winning just two of its first 10 League games, and is floundering just above the four relegation spots. In those 10 matches, it has scored 10 goals and been shut out four times.
Although Harkes has played in seven games, he sat out a 2-0 loss to Barnsley Sept. 23 and a 2-2 draw with Millwall Oct. 1. “It was a tactical change, the manager wanted an extra defender in there,” said Harkes of his bench role for the Barnsley game. ” We’ve been struggling, but I don’t know what he’s thinking of.”
Against Leicester Sept. 10, Harkes took a penalty kick that was saved, and he was substituted at halftime. Then he played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Southend, then came off in the 34th minute of a 2-2 tie with Portsmouth. He sat out the Barnsley match, then Smith sent him away on vacation.
Looking back, Harkes says that leaving Sheffield Wednesday for Derby two years ago was a proper move, despite Derby’s recent tailspin. “I thought Derby would be going up,” he says. “We reached the playoff final against Leicester at Wembley, but we just missed out.”
That was an agonizing failure for Harkes; he shot against the post in the final minutes on a scoring chance that could have won the match for Derby.
“Derby really wanted me, and they came in with very good terms,” he said. “At the time, for me, it was the right thing to do.”
by Soccer America Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney