Wolves swoop for defender
Wolves are set to make Crystal Palace defender Darren Ward their second signing of the summer after clinching a deal worth £500,000. Wolves are set to make Crystal Palace defender Darren Ward their second signing of the summer after clinching a deal worth £500,000. Ward was due at Molineux for a medical later today as he prepares to reinforce Wolves' defensive line ahead of their promotion push next season. Wolves have fought off interest from Premiership clubs Sunderland, Reading and Birmingham to clinch Ward's signature. Charlton, Coventry and former club Watford were also believed to be in for the highly-rated 28-year-old. Ward has been sold on Wolves as a club with the potential to mount a concerted push for the top flight and – with Steve Morgan's impending £30m takeover just days away from completion – the resources to stay there. Read the full story in the Express & Star.
Ward was due at Molineux for a medical later today as he prepares to reinforce Wolves' defensive line ahead of their promotion push next season.
Wolves have fought off interest from Premiership clubs Sunderland, Reading and Birmingham to clinch Ward's signature. Charlton, Coventry and former club Watford were also believed to be in for the highly-rated 28-year-old.
Ward has been sold on Wolves as a club with the potential to mount a concerted push for the top flight and – with Steve Morgan's impending £30m takeover just days away from completion – the resources to stay there.
The London-born stopper played his last game for Crystal Palace back in January after being squeezed out of the first team by Mark Hudson and Leon Cort.
Ward only had a year left on his Palace contract and Eagles chairman Simon Jordan admitted last week that the defender would leave Selhurst Park in the summer.
Ward's move to Molineux takes him out of the capital for the first time in his career. He started out at Watford in 1995 before joining QPR on loan.
He left for Milwall in a £500,000 deal in 2001 and played in an FA Cup final for the Lions before signing for Palace in 2005 for £1.1m.
Ward first caught the eye of the Wolves chief during Millwall's FA Cup semi-final against Sunderland in 2004. The Black Cats lost 1-0, and then boss McCarthy said Ward and his defensive partner Matthew Lawrence had played "as well as Sol Campbell and John Terry".
He played in the top flight during his spell at the Hornets – and with 301 starts under his belt he will provide vital experience.
At 5 ft 11 ins he is good in air and boasts excellent positional sense.
Wolves' newest defender was also nicknamed the 'Peckham Beckham' during his Watford days – because his haircut mirrored the style of the former England captain.