Could Amuneke be set for Linfield?

It seems Linfield are in the box seat to sign Kevin Amuneke.

As we recently revealed a number of Premiership clubs had been tracking the former Nigerian international following his impressive performances for Ballynure Old Boys.

But the News Letter understands the Blues have stolen a march on their rivals and now look likely to snap him up.

Amuneke was a youngster at Porto during the glorious reign of a certain Jose Mourinho, played professionally in Portugal’s top flight, the Primera Liga, for Vitoria, and was the subject of a £400,000 transfer when he was sold to Bulgarian big-hitters CSKA Sofia.

The 30-year-old’s brother Emmanuel played for Barcelona and is a former African footballer of the year, he was part of the Nigerian squad that participated at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, a first-ever for the African country, scoring against Bulgaria and Italy.

Kevin has two full international caps for Nigeria and has been highly impressive for Ballynure since signing for them in the summer.

He netted another hat-trick for them in last Saturday’s 7-5 win over Sofia Farmer.

“He’s outstanding, you know he has played professionally, he’s different gravy. He’s the type of player that with his flicks and his tricks, you can see players backing off him as he’s that quick and sharp,” said Ballynure OB boss Ronnie Burns.