Brown confident Ricketts will stay

01 July 2009 09:35
Hull boss Phil Brown is not expecting defender Sam Ricketts to leave the club this summer. Wales international Ricketts, who has one year remaining on his contract at the KC Stadium, has been linked with Portsmouth and Everton. Brown is now in the process of trying to negotiate a new deal with Ricketts and said: "It is something that is ongoing and has been for six months - and something that will be ongoing for the next six months, I dare say." He added: "He has got another year left on his contract so I fully expect him to be in for pre-season training. "There is nothing with regards to any of the players making any kind of move with regards to getting away." Hull, who escaped relegation from the Barclays Premier League on the final day of last season, begin pre-season training next Monday and travel to a camp in Italy two days later. Brown has a number of transfer targets, including an audacious attempt to sign Michael Owen, in mind. Brown said: "At this moment in time I am quite happy with the squad I have got and I am trying to improve it by bringing in four or five quality Premier League players. "It is difficult in a week that we could get five or six deals done but it is not beyond the realms of possibility. "When I first arrived we did three in one day and last season we did three in one day as well."

Source: Eurosport