Northern Ireland striker set to be subject of League One bidding war as multiple sides weigh up offers
After scoring 18 times for Ross County last season, Hale has already netted four goals this term for the Staggies and played 90 minutes on Saturday in the 2-2 draw at Airdrie as the Highlands club began their campaign in Scotland's second tier following their relegation from the top flight in May.
It is understood the striker, having made a positive impact on his Northern Ireland debut in June, is keen to play at a higher level to cement his place in Michael O'Neill's squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, which kick off with an away double header versus Luxembourg and Germany in September.
League One sides Luton and Wycombe Wanderers have been tracking Hale, while Reading have also been keeping an eye on the 26-year-old and could now be ready to make their move.
In turn, that may lead to others following suit, with Ross County looking for a healthy return on a player who has been a big hit for them and has two years left on his contract.
Reading, who on Saturday lost their opening League One fixture of the season 2-0 at Lincoln, have money to spend after midfielder Harvey Knibbs joined Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee.
Fellow Hale admirers Wycombe Wanderers were also defeated in their first game 2-1 at Bradford.
Scottish Premiership clubs are monitoring the situation but it seems the English sides have moved ahead in the race.
Belfast native Hale played at youth and Under-21 level for the Republic of Ireland but last year opted to go through a protracted FIFA process to complete an international transfer to Northern Ireland.
Having waited patiently for his first appearance for O'Neill's side, he started in the 1-0 friendly win over Iceland at Windsor Park and looked dangerous in attack.
After enjoying his first taste of senior international football, Hale is hungry for more and is determined to give himself the best chance possible of playing in the World Cup games.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
12 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Son Heung-min completes move to Los Angeles from Tottenham in MLS record deal
It was revealed on Saturday that Son would depart Spurs following 173 goals in 454 appearances and months after he captained the club to Europa League glory. After an agreement between Tottenham and LAFC was struck for a deal in excess of £20million, the 33-year-old arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and a day later he has finalised his transfer, which is the highest fee paid by an MLS club for a player. In a post to Spurs fans on Instagram, Son, who has signed an initial two-year deal with LAFC with options for a further two, wrote: 'How to find the right words for this? I don't know. I have been thinking for days. It's impossible. But here I go. 'It's time for me to say goodbye to Tottenham Hotspur. My home for the past decade. When I arrived in 2015, I didn't speak English, I didn't know London, but you welcomed me with open arms, believed in me, and stood by me through every high and low. 'I was just a boy from Korea with big dreams who was supposed to have no chance. And now, 10 years later, North London is in my heart forever. Dear Spurs fans… Sonny's letter to you 🤍 — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 6, 2025 'I've made friends for life here, had the honour of becoming a godfather here, and had the privilege of captaining our special club here. I've poured my heart and soul into this club, which makes this the hardest decision ever. 'I thought if I was ever going to leave, it would have to be on my terms, on the best terms, when our mission had been accomplished together. With pride and honour.' Son joined Spurs in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen. After a tough debut campaign the South Korea captain went on to become one of the club's best ever players and made himself a Premier League great in the process. Alongside old partner in crime Harry Kane, Son holds the record for the most goal involvements by a duo in the Premier League, with the pair assisting each other on a record 47 occasions in the competition. The Chuncheon-born attacker also won the league's Golden Boot award in the 2021-22 season after scoring 23 times and he sits 17th in the list of all-time scorers in the division with 127 goals. Under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, Son's consistent displays helped turn Tottenham into genuine title contenders but silverware continued to allude them after a second-placed finish in 2017 was followed by a Champions League runner-up spot two years later. Whilst various members of Pochettino's team left not long after the Argentinian's winter departure in 2019, Son stayed to work under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte before he was tasked with leading a new era by Ange Postecoglou. Son Enjoyed a formidable partnership with Harry Kane (Andrew Matthews/PA) Postecoglou named Son as his captain in the wake of Kane's high-profile switch to Bayern Munich and Hugo Lloris' departure from the first team and after a roller coaster two seasons under the Australian, they achieved the holy grail together on May 21. Son was consigned to a place on the bench in Bilbao for the Europa League final against Manchester United following an injury-affected campaign, but was introduced to make his final competitive appearance for Spurs to help them win 1-0 and end a 17-year wait for silverware. It etched Son's name into the history books as he became only the fourth captain in Spurs' history to lift a European trophy after Danny Blanchflower, Alan Mullery and Steve Perryman. The popular South Korean will renew acquaintances with Lloris and move to Los Angeles, which boasts one of the largest Korean populations in the world, ahead of next summer's World Cup in the United States.
Leader Live
39 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Son Heung-min completes move to Los Angeles from Tottenham in MLS record deal
It was revealed on Saturday that Son would depart Spurs following 173 goals in 454 appearances and months after he captained the club to Europa League glory. After an agreement between Tottenham and LAFC was struck for a deal in excess of £20million, the 33-year-old arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and a day later he has finalised his transfer, which is the highest fee paid by an MLS club for a player. In a post to Spurs fans on Instagram, Son, who has signed an initial two-year deal with LAFC with options for a further two, wrote: 'How to find the right words for this? I don't know. I have been thinking for days. It's impossible. But here I go. 'It's time for me to say goodbye to Tottenham Hotspur. My home for the past decade. When I arrived in 2015, I didn't speak English, I didn't know London, but you welcomed me with open arms, believed in me, and stood by me through every high and low. 'I was just a boy from Korea with big dreams who was supposed to have no chance. And now, 10 years later, North London is in my heart forever. Dear Spurs fans… Sonny's letter to you 🤍 — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 6, 2025 'I've made friends for life here, had the honour of becoming a godfather here, and had the privilege of captaining our special club here. I've poured my heart and soul into this club, which makes this the hardest decision ever. 'I thought if I was ever going to leave, it would have to be on my terms, on the best terms, when our mission had been accomplished together. With pride and honour.' Son joined Spurs in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen. After a tough debut campaign the South Korea captain went on to become one of the club's best ever players and made himself a Premier League great in the process. A post shared by Son HeungMin(손흥민)🇰🇷 (@hm_son7) Alongside old partner in crime Harry Kane, Son holds the record for the most goal involvements by a duo in the Premier League, with the pair assisting each other on a record 47 occasions in the competition. The Chuncheon-born attacker also won the league's Golden Boot award in the 2021-22 season after scoring 23 times and he sits 17th in the list of all-time scorers in the division with 127 goals. Under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, Son's consistent displays helped turn Tottenham into genuine title contenders but silverware continued to allude them after a second-placed finish in 2017 was followed by a Champions League runner-up spot two years later. Whilst various members of Pochettino's team left not long after the Argentinian's winter departure in 2019, Son stayed to work under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte before he was tasked with leading a new era by Ange Postecoglou. Postecoglou named Son as his captain in the wake of Kane's high-profile switch to Bayern Munich and Hugo Lloris' departure from the first team and after a roller coaster two seasons under the Australian, they achieved the holy grail together on May 21. Son was consigned to a place on the bench in Bilbao for the Europa League final against Manchester United following an injury-affected campaign, but was introduced to make his final competitive appearance for Spurs to help them win 1-0 and end a 17-year wait for silverware. It etched Son's name into the history books as he became only the fourth captain in Spurs' history to lift a European trophy after Danny Blanchflower, Alan Mullery and Steve Perryman. The popular South Korean will renew acquaintances with Lloris and move to Los Angeles, which boasts one of the largest Korean populations in the world, ahead of next summer's World Cup in the United States.
Glasgow Times
40 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Son Heung-min completes move to Los Angeles from Tottenham in MLS record deal
It was revealed on Saturday that Son would depart Spurs following 173 goals in 454 appearances and months after he captained the club to Europa League glory. After an agreement between Tottenham and LAFC was struck for a deal in excess of £20million, the 33-year-old arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and a day later he has finalised his transfer, which is the highest fee paid by an MLS club for a player. In a post to Spurs fans on Instagram, Son, who has signed an initial two-year deal with LAFC with options for a further two, wrote: 'How to find the right words for this? I don't know. I have been thinking for days. It's impossible. But here I go. 'It's time for me to say goodbye to Tottenham Hotspur. My home for the past decade. When I arrived in 2015, I didn't speak English, I didn't know London, but you welcomed me with open arms, believed in me, and stood by me through every high and low. 'I was just a boy from Korea with big dreams who was supposed to have no chance. And now, 10 years later, North London is in my heart forever. Dear Spurs fans… Sonny's letter to you 🤍 — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 6, 2025 'I've made friends for life here, had the honour of becoming a godfather here, and had the privilege of captaining our special club here. I've poured my heart and soul into this club, which makes this the hardest decision ever. 'I thought if I was ever going to leave, it would have to be on my terms, on the best terms, when our mission had been accomplished together. With pride and honour.' Son joined Spurs in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen. After a tough debut campaign the South Korea captain went on to become one of the club's best ever players and made himself a Premier League great in the process. Alongside old partner in crime Harry Kane, Son holds the record for the most goal involvements by a duo in the Premier League, with the pair assisting each other on a record 47 occasions in the competition. The Chuncheon-born attacker also won the league's Golden Boot award in the 2021-22 season after scoring 23 times and he sits 17th in the list of all-time scorers in the division with 127 goals. Under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, Son's consistent displays helped turn Tottenham into genuine title contenders but silverware continued to allude them after a second-placed finish in 2017 was followed by a Champions League runner-up spot two years later. Whilst various members of Pochettino's team left not long after the Argentinian's winter departure in 2019, Son stayed to work under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte before he was tasked with leading a new era by Ange Postecoglou. Son Enjoyed a formidable partnership with Harry Kane (Andrew Matthews/PA) Postecoglou named Son as his captain in the wake of Kane's high-profile switch to Bayern Munich and Hugo Lloris' departure from the first team and after a roller coaster two seasons under the Australian, they achieved the holy grail together on May 21. Son was consigned to a place on the bench in Bilbao for the Europa League final against Manchester United following an injury-affected campaign, but was introduced to make his final competitive appearance for Spurs to help them win 1-0 and end a 17-year wait for silverware. It etched Son's name into the history books as he became only the fourth captain in Spurs' history to lift a European trophy after Danny Blanchflower, Alan Mullery and Steve Perryman. The popular South Korean will renew acquaintances with Lloris and move to Los Angeles, which boasts one of the largest Korean populations in the world, ahead of next summer's World Cup in the United States.
