Paul Hurst has played down links, claiming he hasn’t spoken to Charles Vernam, amidst rumours the attacker is on his way Blundell Park.
Both Vernam and Hopper have been linked with the Cods by people on social media, but in an interview with BBC Radio Humberside, Hurst admitted he had bid for two unnamed attackers, but both bids had been rejected and the deals were going no further. Those bids remain a mystery, so could, in theory, be Tom, but talk of either player leaving imminently for Grimsby have been thoroughly refuted.
As for Vernam, Hurst was asked specifically about the situation, and his reply was fairly certain. He was asked if he was interested in Charles, to which he replied: “I think we were linked with Charles for the last four windows. He played the other night, so I’m not sure that one is going anywhere.”
Persistently, the interviewer then asked if Grimsby were interested in Charles, with Hurst again making no suggestion anything was happening. “I think he’s a player that would interest a lot of teams. As I said, he’s very much part of the Lincoln squad from what I’ve looked at, so I don’t think that one is a goer.”
Undeterred, the interviewer asked if he had spoken to Lincoln about Charles Vernam. “No.” He then asked if he planned to. “No.”
🗣️ “In terms of targets and conversations, it’s picked up.”
🎥 @officialgtfc boss Paul Hurst discusses being linked with Charles Vernam and Scott Pollock.
Here’s the latest on the January transfer window.#gtfc | #bbcfootball | @RadioHumberside pic.twitter.com/BlHJFZnX4P
— BBC Humberside Sport (@HumbersideSport) January 12, 2023
That does seem to put to bed the constant rumours about the two current Imps heading up the A46 to Grimsby, but obviously, you never quite know what might or might not happen behind the scenes.
26-year-old Vernam began his career as a youth at Derby County before moving to Grimsby in 2018. He scored ten goals in 62 league matches for them before a spell with Burton Albion. Last season he played for Bradford City, where he scored eight in 33 outings across all competitions, before his move to the Imps in the summer. He’s started six league matches for us and has 21 appearances in total across all competitions, with 15 starts and a single goal, coming as we lost 2-1 to Doncaster in the Papa John’s Trophy.