Keane Stead fast - No Rams return

The short stint at Pride Park of Jon Stead seems to be over with the 23-year-old close to signing for another club. The Black Cats have said that Stead was heading to an unnamed club for talks today after they were given permission to speak to the player. The Rams, who were keen to sign the talented striker, had a bid turned down last week and the Black Cats coach Roy Keane said: 'Last night I gave permission to Stead to speak to the club, and I`m not going to reveal who that is.
'We have accepted a bid and it is not Derby. They made a bid last week which was turned down, but we accepted a bid last night from another club.
'I spoke to Jon last night after training and he has gone for talks.
"Obviously, I do need to balance the squad and try to balance the books.'
Keane was giving little away about the destination of Stead, or the likely hood of signing the Rams defender Lewin Nyatanga, who has been on loan at the North-East club.
It`s not been reported if the Rams will raise their bid, or has Billy Davies his eye on another target, the transfer roundabout continues.

Meanwhile tickets for Saturday`s home clash with Sheffield Wednesday are selling fast with 26,000 tickets already sold, with the Owls selling around 4,000 of their allocation. The Rams are hoping for a 30,000 plus crowd for the visit of the Yorkshire side.

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.