NO-ONE is more anxious about the Hugo Colace hold-up than the player himself, believes Simon Davey.
The Barnsley boss says that the Argentinian midfielder is distraught as he awaits the go-ahead to begin his Oakwell career.
Each day Colace has been asking whether international clearance has arrived; each day he and the club have been kept waiting.
Colace has joined the Reds from Argentinian club Newell's Old Boys and has been training with them for two months but cannot play until the Argentinian FA supply the formality of the all-clear for him to play in England. An unexplained delay has angered Davey and provoked an appeal to FIFA for help.
"Hugo is distraught.," Davey said. "He comes and sees me every day and asks; he trains hard every day but the biggest thing for any player is the game at the end of the week, and he does not have that at the moment. He can't even play in reserve games. It is extremely hard for him.
"It's frustrating for him and for the club. He has trained for two months now and is ready. He is dying to get on the pitch.
"We are waiting for other people to sort this out and I do not know if the delay is down to incompetence or what. It is very frustrating."
Davey has questioned whether a top club would have suffered the same treatment as Barnsley: "It is common knowledge that the Argentinian FA can be a bit awkward but Newcastle had clearance come through for a player in four days. We will just have to wait."
- Michael Tonge, the £2m midfielder sold to Stoke City this week, is tipping his old club Sheffield United to join him in the Premier League next season. The 25-year-old said: "They have a strong squad that is good enough to be up there and they will definitely be in the frame."
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