Northern Ireland’s Kofi Balmer linked with loan move to Scottish side
Kofi Balmer is primed to go out on loan from Crystal Palace
Conor Hazard has signed with Plymouth Argyle
Former Larne and Ballymena United defender Kofi Balmer could be set to leave Crystal Palace and join Motherwell in a loan deal.
The 22-year-old joined the Premier League side last year but despite being included in first team squads, he has been unable to make a senior appearance.
A switch to Stuart Kettlewell’s Scottish Premiership side could help revitalise his cross-channel career.
Motherwell, where Kettlewell has only been manager since February, lifted themselves out of the relegation zone to finish top of the Premiership’s bottom six at the end of the season.
Balmer caught the eye of Palace manager Patrick Vieira before the Arsenal legend was replaced by Roy Hodgson in March.
Having had a long spell with Northern Ireland Under-21s since his late teens, Balmer was named in the men’s senior squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against Kosovo and Greece last September.
Conor Hazard has signed with Plymouth Argyle
The centre-back made over 40 appearances across all competitions in Larne’s successful 2021/22 campaign, which saw them secure a Europa Conference League spot.
Northern Ireland international Conor Hazard has left Scottish champions Celtic and joined Championship side Plymouth Argyle for a fee believed to be in the region of £500k.
The 25-year-old has signed a three-year contract at Holm Park where he will compete for goalkeeper’s jersey with the highly-rated Michael Cooper.
The Downpatrick native has been with Celtic for nine seasons, enjoying loan stints at Falkirk, Partick Thistle, Dundee and HJK Helsinki in Finland. His most memorable performance in a Celtic jersey came in the 2020 Scottish Cup
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