Carlisle United boss Greg Abbott has missed out on one of his St Lucian targets – to Italian giants Genoa.
The Blues manager had hoped to bring promising midfielder Zaine Pierre to Brunton Park.
But United’s hopes of inviting the 18-year-old Caribbean starlet for a trial have been thwarted by the Serie A club.
Abbott had hoped his coaching trip to St Lucia in the summer had enabled him to steal a march on other clubs for the promising young international player.
The Blues manager is still monitoring another St Lucian player and insisted Carlisle can still benefit from the links he has created with the islanders’ football set-up. But he admitted that one of the two young players he identified as potential stars on his summer trip – Pierre – has set his sights on bigger things than United.
“One of them – the one we were really keen to get over – has actually gone to Genoa,” said Abbott. “With the other one, it is down to the difficulty and expense of the red-tape around it.
“Neither of the two players were ready to go into our first team but I have been trying to get them over to see how they compare with our young players in terms of ability. It is still an open invitation. We want to build up that relationship and show that there is a route from St Lucia into professional football.”
Pierre, who was among the international side coached by Abbott ahead of their World Cup qualifying victory against Aruba, has been on the radar of other English clubs. He had trials with Arsenal, Tottenham and Stoke but work permit problems prevented him from moving to the country permanently.
Pierre, who had been playing for Trinidad club side Western Connection, has also had trials with US outfit San Jose Earthquakes.
Abbott has not ruled out returning to St Lucia next summer. “Loads of things are going on that are massively encouraging for them,” the United boss said. “They just want a bit of support from this country.
“The have been on to me numerous times about setting something up in the summer, maybe making it a working holiday where I take my family over for a few weeks. That’s a possibility, but at the end of a long English season you do need a break. My family might want a week without talking about the offside trap.”
