Oli Oli Oli

[twinpeakes]

Grays Striker Oli Linked

By Phil
Date: 13/11/2005

Town are reported to be keeping an eye on Grays Athletic striker Dennis Oli. The 21-year-old has been one of the stars of the Essex club's superb first ever season in the Football Conference and is expected to move into league football sooner rather than later.


Oli started his career at QPR but was released in the summer of 2004 having made 30 appearances without netting and having had loan spells at Gravesend and Northfleet (five games, no goals) and Farnborough (four games, no goals).

A trial at Swansea saw the Forest Gate-born striker make one appearance as a sub before he joined Cambridge for a month, scoring once in five games, prior to moving to Grays in November last year and helping them to the Conference South and FA Trophy double.

Over the summer Oli was linked with a move to Southend who had previously signed two other ex-Grays men, the prolific Freddy Eastwood and winger Mitchell Cole. Grays boss Mark Stimson doesn't stand in the way of his players moving into league football but said after the Shrimpers' interest that Oli would command a six-figure fee.

Elsewhere, Town have missed out on signing 17-year-old Canadian midfielder Keegan Ayre, who has joined Tony Mowbray's Hibernian on a two-and-a-half year contract.

Ayre's agent Alec McLaughlin confirmed that the Blues were amongst the clubs interested, but says the offer from Hibs was too good to turn down: "He has been given a decent contract for a 17-year-old. If we weren't happy with it he wouldn't have signed because we had West Bromwich Albion in the background, we had Ipswich in the background and he has already been to Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday."

Town are also reported to have been one of the clubs tracking Wycombe striker Nathan Tyson who has joined Nottingham Forest on loan with a view to signing permanently for £750,000