Kiely's future in doubt as Carson moves in

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND international goalkeeper Dean Kiely may be considering his future once again over the weekend after Scott Carson completed a €4.1 million move from Liverpool to West Brom yesterday.

Kiely has played 75 times for the midlands club since joining a year and a half ago and was a key figure in their promotion winning campaign last season.

After Carson's proposed move to Aston Villa and Stoke City fell through, however, West Brom manager Tony Mowbray stepped in to snap up the highly-rated Englishman on a four-year deal that could rise in value to around €5 million.

"Our intention since clinching promotion has been to strengthen all departments of the team," said Mowbray, whose spending over the summer has now passed the €16 million mark. "Scott's arrival means we've got strong competition in the goalkeeping position."

Despite Kiely's impressive form last season it is hard to imagine Carson not starting the coming Premier League campaign as the club's first choice.

The 37-year-old former Bury, Charlton and Portsmouth player has never been one to settle for sitting around and collecting his wage cheque and having made such a successful return to the international set up in May he might, at this stage in his career, be more anxious than ever to ensure he is playing first-team football next season.

Carson's deal came a day after Ireland under-21 international Graham Stack wrapped up a two-year contract with Plymouth Argyle after doing well during a brief trial with the club.

Stack said he is hoping the move will "kick start" a career that has involved more than its fair share of frustration.

Now 26, he started out at Arsenal where he made a handful of League Cup appearances but gained most of his first team football during loan spells at other clubs.

More recently he was at Reading but never managed to make the big breakthrough he had been hoping for and he spent most of last season on loan at Wolves where he played three times. After Reading's relegation he was released by the club.

Plymouth face Wolves and Reading in their first two games of the new league season.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times