Kilmarnock eager to sign up Derek Riordan but a move abroad is player’s preference

KILMARNOCK’S hopes of signing Derek Riordan could be thwarted by the player’s desire to move abroad.

The striker is training with the Ayrshire club whose manager, Kenny Shiels, spoke yesterday of his admiration for the former Hibernian attacker and how he could fit into Kilmarnock’s style of play.

But Riordan’s preference is to move to foreign fields rather than return to the SPL, a league he became disillusioned with towards the end of his second spell with Hibs.

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The 28-year-old is without a club after starting the season in China with Shaanxi Chan-Ba. That short and ultimately disappointing sojourn has failed to quell his wanderlust and Riordan wants another stab at playing abroad.

A number of clubs are understood to have expressed an interest, including the Turkish side Eskisehirspor who signed Kris Boyd in July.

Riordan will have noted, however, that Boyd terminated the contract five months later, complaining of late payments.

Riordan is training with Kilmarnock in a bid to retain his fitness and played for them yesterday in a bounce game against Rangers at Murray Park, a match the home side won 4-1.

The Killie connection came through Riordan’s friendship with Dean Shiels, his former team-mate at Hibs. Shiels junior is on loan at Kilmarnock from Doncaster Rovers and his father, Killie manager Kenny, had hoped Riordan could either team up with his son at Rugby Park or replace him should Shiels return to Doncaster.

“Derek likes our way of playing,” said Kenny Shiels, who retains the hope that Riordan might join Kilmarnock until the end of the season and put himself in the shop window for a potential move elsewhere. “He knows it would suit both parties. We would benefit from him and it’s an opportunity for him to express what he can do.”

Shiels senior has won plaudits for the way Kilmarnock have played this season. Their football has been easy on the eye and the manager believes Riordan’s style would dovetail with Kilmarnock’s. Shiels said he would even excuse the player defensive duties.

“He would have the freedom to play and go and express himself,” added Shiels. “We wouldn’t want him to do any defending. We’d just play him in an area where he can exploit other team’s weaknesses and certainly with the quality he has it would be suited to our style of play.

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“But there are lots of things that have to be resolved which I can’t go into detail on.”

Dean Shiels’s loan spell is due to expire this month but his father has not given up hope of extending his stay, even if he manages to persuade Riordan to sign.

“It’s dual purpose,” Shiels senior told BBC Scotland. “If we keep Dean, they’ve got a great understanding those two, as anyone from Hibernian will tell you – they played really well together.

“There’s that and the replacement option. All Derek wants to do is play football so hopefully something might happen, but it’s a bit pie in the sky at the moment.”

Riordan has not played competitively since his final match for Shaanxi on 15 October. He lasted just four months in China after signing a two-year contract in the summer. He remains the third highest SPL scorer of all time, behind Boyd and Henrik Larsson, with 95 goals. Whether he will reach his century will hinge on negotiations between now and the end of the month.

And while the player’s preference is to move abroad, he may find that a short spell in a league he knows might help him realise that ambition.

Kilmarnock, meanwhile, are in talks to sign the Scunthorpe United defender Michael Nelson and are hoping a deal can be done in time for him to face Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday.

The former Bury and Hartlepool centre-back joined Scunthorpe from Norwich a year ago but has fallen out of favour in recent weeks and the League 1 club are keen to offload the 31-year-old, who is one of their highest earners.

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Scunthorpe manager Alan Knill told the club’s official website: “Nothing has been finalised yet and talks between Michael and Kilmarnock are ongoing. We all felt that if Michael could find another club it would be beneficial for all parties.”