Easter: This was my big chance

8:19am Friday 31st August 2007

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JERMAINE Easter has pleaded with Wanderers to lower their valuation of him after they blocked his dream move to the Championship.

The Chairboys board this week turned down a £300,000 bid from Plymouth Argyle for the Welsh international leaving Easter gutted.

He said: "I wanted to go. I've always said I want to play in the Championship and this was my big chance.

"I'm very disappointed. I think it was a very reasonable offer for someone who is out of contract in the summer and has only really had one good season but the club obviously think differently."

Easter is now hoping that Argyle come back with an improved bid before the transfer window slams shut at midnight.

The 25-year-old scored 24 times for Wanderers last season including three goals against Premiership opposition in the Carling Cup to bring him to the attention of the Devon club.

But Blues managing director Steve Hayes said: "Plymouth's valuation didn't meet ours. They made a bid of £300,000 which we rejected."

Hayes has now challenged Easter to score the goals in the next four months to earn him his dream move when the transfer window reopens in January.

Hayes said: "He's got four months to prove to other clubs that he is worth the money that we value him at.

"If he is scoring the goals then clubs in the Championship will come in for him again.

"I can understand his disappointment because he would love to make it in the Championship but he has signed a contract with us.

"If the figure was right we would not stand in his way but we don't believe the figure is right."

But Easter believes Wanderers are pricing him out of the market.

"I only cost Wycombe £80,000 from Stockport County and now they have turned down an offer more than three times that.

"I don't want to rock the boat because I don't believe that's the right way to do things. I'm not happy but there's no point dwelling on it or sulking about it because that would only be to my detriment.

"I told Steve Hayes that I wanted to go to Plymouth but the club won't tell me how much money they want for me, which is pretty frustrating.

"They have obviously seen other players go for big money and think they can get more.

"I can understand they would want to get the best deal for the club, but I'm the one that's being made to suffer.

"Instead of being part of the Plymouth squad playing against Leicester this weekend it looks as though I'm going to be going to Chesterfield.

"Plymouth was a good opportunity for me. All I can do is get my head down and keep working for that chance again."