Six figure bid for winger

Derek Davis

A PROPOSED deal for Ipswich Town to sign left-winger Luciano Civelli from Argentina is a long way from being completed.

The club last night refused to confirm that they have made a �1m plus-bid for a 50% share in the 22-year-old - as claimed by Club Atletico Banfield vice-president Carlos Portel - but GreenUn24 understands a deal is in the offing.

Civelli has not yet seen the Town set-up or spoken about personal terms but is understood to be interested in playing in England, with Premier League Portsmouth another club understood to have been monitoring him.

Civelli was expected to sign for Greek side AEK Athens and the Argentinian club could still sell to them even though Banfield have accepted the Blues offer of around �1.2m, depending on currency exchange rate, for half of the players' rights.

It is understood the Buenos Aires-based Banfield club would retain the other half of the player's contract.

The 22-year-old has dual nationality and his Italian passport will negate the need for a work permit but Town would need to satisfy domestic bodies as to the legality of the switch.

A Football League spokesman last night said they would wait until the deal had been ratified before commenting and added they would be guided by FA regulations.

The FA rules state that third parties involved in players being sold were prohibited from affecting the club's policy or the performance of its teams.

Civelli, whose older bother Renato plays for Marseille although he was at loan back in Argentina with Gimnasia last season, was spotted by Steve McCall and Simon Hunt on their visit to South America.

Tall and quick, Civelli can play anywhere down the left side and gets among the goals.

A good header of the ball he is naturally left-footed and in his 15 games in an injury-interrupted season, he scored twice.

His career for Banfield has yielded eight goals in 68 matches since making his senior debut in 2006.