KEY POINTS:
All Whites striker Noah Hickey is poised to join English lower division soccer club Walsall, subject to securing a work permit.
At a loose end after the turbulent New Zealand Knights season ended -- and with no indication the franchise will continue -- Hickey is trying to secure a short-term deal with the leaders of English League 2.
The deal, should it eventuate, will see Hickey play in England for five months until the end of the season and then potentially return home to play for a rebranded Knights -- providing Football Federation Australia (FFA) endorses one of three bids for the participation licence.
The FFA had discussions last week with consortiums from Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North and expects to make a decision on whether a New Zealand franchise will remain in the A-League next month.
Meanwhile, Hickey was crossing his fingers a work permit would be approved this week.
He has had problems before with red tape in England after a move to Hull was scuppered when a permit was denied.
Fellow All White Che Bunce, who was a defender at the Knights this season, is also trying out with Dundee United in Scotland.
- NZPA
