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Mancienne to finalise Hamburg deal

MICHAEL MANCIENNE is due in Germany tomorrow to finalise a £3m deal engineered by Hamburg's ex-Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen.

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MICHAEL MANCIENNE is due in Germany tomorrow to finalise a £3m deal engineered by Hamburg's ex-Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen.

Mancienne has spent the last three seasons on loan at Wolves but, after a disappointing campaign last time around, the defender returned to Stamford Bridge with no prospect of a permanent move to Molineux.

And with Chelsea ready to cash in on the England Under-21 man, Hamburg have made their move.

Manager Mick McCarthy has lined up more experienced defenders in the summer with Blues' Roger Johnson topping his wish-list.

Meanwhile, Wayne Hennessey today offered his thanks to senior team-mate Marcus Hahnemann amid mounting evidence of major changes on the way at Molineux this summer.

Veteran keeper Hahnemann, currently with the US national team, is expected to claim a free transfer exit out of the club after Hennessey reclaimed the starting position last season.

Chief executive Jez Moxey was back at his desk today after a short post-survival break to deal with the outstanding issues.

And Hahnemann's future will be prime among them with the veteran keeper keen to now chase a starting spot elsewhere following Hennessey's re-emergence last season.

Hennessey claims to be in the dark about his senior colleague's plans but, with reports that Preston keeper Andy Lonergan is already being lined up as a replacement, he said: "Marcus has been a massive help to me over the season.

"As goalkeepers we are all very close and support each other whoever is in the team. Everything happened so quickly at the end of the season and I know a lot of things weren't going to be sorted out until we knew where we were.

"Whatever happens with Marcus he has been a big help to me and I'm sure I'll stay in touch with him."

Hennessey put the seal on his season with a final appearance for the Welsh in the Carling Nations Cup on Friday but now feels firmly re-established as Wolves' first-choice after Hahnemann stepped in to take up the role the previous season.

"I've enjoyed the season. I managed to win the place back in the team and once I'd played a few games I felt I'd found my standard again and felt really good," he said.

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