New Players For Town!

By: Stephen Bateman
Date: 16/05/2001

GRIMSBY TOWN have signed Dutch goalkeeper Ronald Ermes on a one-year contract, and are also hoping to add the signatures of Leicester City's Stuart Campbell and a highly-promising young midfielder from non-league football.

Ermes links up with The Mariners after being deemed surplus to requirements at Feyenoord and will now become their second-choice goalkeeper behind Welsh international Danny Coyne.

The 19-year-old stated that he is looking forward to the challenge, and also confirmed that 27-year-old Coyne has been the subject of interest from other clubs, saying: "It will be a tough challenge, but I'm young and I have time on my side.

"I'll be guaranteed a place in the reserve team and it means that I will be able to play once or twice a week on a decent stage. There is also a chance that Coyne will be sold, as there has been a lot of interest in him."

Town boss Lennie Lawrence is also hoping to tie up a deal with Leicester that would see Campbell join the club permanently, following a most impressive loan spell earlier this season.

"I have more or less fixed a fee with Leicester. I've got the agent to deal with, and I've got the method of payment to deal with, which is not easy," Lawrence told the club's official website.

"But we've moved along a little bit there, and hopefully we'll bring that to a conclusion. In a perfect world I'd have him in next Monday to put pen to paper."

It is thought that The Foxes will be looking for a fee in the region of £200,000 before they allow the 20-year-old Scot to depart for the East Coast.

Grimsby are also understood to be interested in signing Ossett Albion midfielder Steve Downes. The young Yorkshireman has attracted interest from a variety of clubs after a string of impressive performances in the Northern Counties League and is now set for a trial at Blundell Park.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that he is going on to bigger and better things," declared Albion manager Eric Gilchrist.

Meanwhile, two of the club's longest-serving players - skipper Paul Groves and midfielder Kingsley Black - are both facing major decisions late in their careers.

Groves is expected to sign a new two-year contract with the club, while Black, who is also currently out-of-contract, is being touted for a possible move to Lincoln City, where he would team up with former Mariners boss Alan Buckley.

Acknowledgements to www.planetfootball.com for this story.

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