Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley has thanked Ipswich counterpart Mick McCarthy for allowing him to borrow winger Danny Rowe for the rest of the season.
Blues boss McCarthy revealed last week that Rowe is due to move to the League Two side when the January transfer window opens, with Cowley confirming a deal for the £100,000 signing from Macclesfield is close.
Cowley, whose Imps knocked McCarthy’s Blues out of last season’s FA Cup, has thanked the Ipswich boss for trusting him with Rowe and talked up the former Wolves manager’s standing in the game.
“Everything has been agreed in principle. We’ve just not quite dotted the eyes I’s and crossed the T’s,” Cowley told the Lincolnshire Echo.
“We’re really thankful that Mick McCarthy has put his trust in us because I know he thinks a lot of Danny.
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“Mick is a great football man who has forgotten more than I know. So the fact he has put his trust in us is brilliant for us as a football club.
“Mick was really good with us over those two games (in the FA Cup.
“It must have been hard for him because it’s never nice to be beaten by an underdog but he showed real class and we had some good conversations with him after both games.”
Cowley is also excited to be getting his hands on a player he has tracked for a number of years.
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“Danny Rowe is a top, top player. He’s someone we know well from his time at Macclesfield,” said Cowley.
“We actually tried to sign him when we first joined Lincoln but he had just signed a new deal with Macclesfield.
“The year we were at Braintree, he was the standout player in the National League.
“We’ve all seen what standout players in the National League can do in the Football League. The prospect of him joining us is really exciting.”
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McCarthy believes a loan move will do Rowe good, challenging him to return to Portman Road in the summer with a promotion on his CV.
“It’s a good move for him, they’ve got a chance of getting promoted,” McCarthy said. He met (Lincoln boss) Danny Cowley yesterday and he explained to him what he wants from him and where he wants him to play.
“It’ll be good for us because I still think Danny’s got something to offer, but he needs to play in a league side and if he has a really good second half of the season with Lincoln then that may push him further into the picture for us next season.”
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