Mark Hughes has vowed to resist any attempt to lure Benni McCarthy away from Blackburn this summer after the South African rounded off his outstanding first season in the Premiership with another goal.
McCarthy’s opener in the 3-3 draw with Reading on Sunday ensured he finished the campaign with 18 league goals — second only to Chelsea’s Didier Drogba — and 24 in all competitions.
That kind of strike rate has not gone unnoticed by the bigger clubs in the division and McCarthy was quoted earlier this month as saying he would relish a return to the Champions League, a tournament he won while he was at FC Porto.
Hughes, however, insisted those comments had been blown out of proportion and said that he would do everything he could to hang on to one of his most valuable assets.
”I’m as confident as I can be that Benni will still be here next season,” Hughes declared. ”As I keep on trying to emphasise, we are not a selling club. He has had a fantastic season and it could not have gone better for him. We are delighted for him but if we allowed him to leave we would be weaker.”
Reading, meanwhile, are resigned to losing Steve Sidwell, the former Arsenal midfielder who has been one of the outstanding performers in their first season in the top flight.
Sidwell, who is out of contract, is expected to join Chelsea although he has also attracted interest from Newcastle. — Sapa-AFP