ENGLAND-BASED Warriors striker Macauley Bonne has sparked interest in the English Premier League with Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Huddersfield and Leicester reportedly lining up for his signature.
BY KEVIN MAPASURE
The 23-year-old has attracted interest from Championship clubs too, with Norwich City, Stoke City and Nottingham Forest among his suitors, the Sun reported yesterday.
The British tabloid, however, suggested it is unlikely that Bonne would end up at Nottingham Forest, where he would join Warriors rightback Tendayi Darikwa.
Bonne has scored 17 goals for his fourth-tier club, Leyton Orient this season after making 24 appearances in the league.
Leyton Orient are currently at the top of the table in their pursuit of an automatic qualification to League Two.
However, a mere four points separate the top four teams on the 24-team table, with only one team getting automatic qualification.
Bonne, who is the league’s top goalscorer, has been spearheading their charge, with the team having suffered just two defeats, while they recorded 14 wins and eight draws.
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The former Colchester United, Lincoln City and Woking FC player could be on the move from Brisbane Road amid all the interest in his services, but it’s hard to see him picking Forest over the rest of the competition.
Bonne was valued at £500 000 by the same newspaper and is described as a bargain for the Championship and top-flight league teams.
He is likely to face a situation where he would have to choose between the top-flight and the second-tier, as he is likely to get more game time at the latter, but the rich pickings at the former could sway him to make the big step.
Early this year, Bonne was linked with, among other clubs Shrewsbury, Portsmouth and Burton Albion, but with interest now coming from top-tier clubs, he is likely to make bigger strides in his career.
With his stock rising so fast in such a short space of time, the Warriors technical team would be looking to get him into national colours as soon as possible.
And with the Warriors’ next Africa Cup of Nations qualifier coming up against Congo in March, the Warriors technical team have made it one of their main priorities to get Bonne a Zimbabwean passport so that he starts representing the country at a competitive level, with the attacker having already played for the Warriors in friendly matches.
The 23-year-old has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of former England forward Jamie Vardy, who rose from lower league football to become a star at Leicester, where he went on to win the league title.
