BLESSING Kaku's hopes of finally landing a Premiership contract will hinge on whether Sam Allardyce can strike one of his famous bargain deals.
The former Nigerian international missed out on a chance to press his claim when a private friendly against a Manchester United Xl was called off on Tuesday, but the Wanderers boss had already seen enough.
He wants to add Kaku to his midfield ranks, hopefully before this weekend's Premiership opener at home to Charlton Athletic, but the Israeli club, Ashdod, are demanding a fee for the 26-year-old, who still has a year of his contract to run.
Allardyce will not pay more than a nominal fee for the defensive midfielder who played in Austria and Belgium before moving to Israel but, if the price is right, he is prepared to give him a chance to link up with his countryman, Jay-Jay Okocha, at the Reebok.
Kaku, who first played for Nigeria four years ago and was a member of the Super Eagles' Olympic squad in Sydney, was on the verge of a move to Anderlecht from Harelbeke during the 1999-2000 season but a £6million price tag scared off the Belgian giants. He later signed for Racing Genk for around £600,000, where he won a league title before a knee injury kept him out of action for almost a full season.
Back to full fitness, he picked up his career in Israel, initially with Hapoel Beer Sheva, and regained his place in the international squad.
He was recommended to Wanderers by the agent who helped broker the deal that brought the young Israel international, Tal Ben Haim, to the Reebok from Maccabi Tel Aviv at a cost of £240,000.
Allardyce, who has spoken to Liverpool's Senegal striker El-Hadji Diouf in the hope of securing him on a season-long loan, has also been linked with another African, the Ivory Coast international Dagui Bakaro, who plays for the French club, Lens.
Charlton are also understood to have an interest in the 29-year-old, who recently rejected the offer of a short-term contract at Spurs.
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