Peterborough United are facing interest from League Two new boys Rochdale for Cian Hayes.
The winger is one of several names transfer-listed by Posh as part of their summer clearout, with chairman Darragh MacAnthony planning a full reset ahead of Luke Williams’ first summer in charge at London Road.
Dale Eyes Ex-Star
The Greater Manchester side arrive back in the EFL under a cloud of uncertainty, with boss Jim McNulty believed to be a front-runner to take over at League One promotion hopefuls Stockport County.
However, the potential exit of the former Tranmere Rovers defender has not stopped the club from pressing on with their transfer business, and according to Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Hayes is a player of interest at Spotland.
The 22-year-old, who is a former Ireland youth international, had a previous spell at the Dale, playing 25 times in blue as part of a loan spell from Fleetwood Town two years ago.
His efforts that season, which saw him find the net seven times, caught the attention of Peterborough, who scooped him up on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
This campaign saw him play 33 times in the third tier for Posh, scoring three times and recording as many assists.
However, his future looks bleak in Cambridgeshire, with the club willing to listen to offers for him, and have already begun eyeing potential replacements in both Colchester United’s Kyreece Lisbie, Barnet’s Ryan Glover and former Crewe Alexandra loanee Tommi O’Reilly.
Is Hayes A Good Deal?
Given the uncertainty of Jim McNulty’s future, any moves made in the coming days and weeks should be treated with a lot of caution by Rochdale.
However, the club must press on with whatever upgrades they need to make to get this team up to scratch in a higher level, even if there is a narrow gap in quality between the National League and League Two.
Targeting a former loan star of theirs will be a certain fan favourite at Spotland, with Hayes offering a more than admirable overall performance in his brief stint with the club in their first season ever in non-league.
It would be imagined that Peterborough will also be looking to offload him fairly quickly as part of their rebuild, meaning that Rochdale could secure him at a discounted price.
While he may not have recorded any outstanding statistics during his time in the EFL, this would be a strong bit of business for someone with regular game experience at a higher level for a team looking to compete in League Two.
