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Bruce feeling heat as Heskey stock soars
STEVE BRUCE is concerned that more impressive displays for England from Emile Heskey will not help him keep his star striker at the JJB Stadium.
Heskey is out of contract in the summer and has so far refused to sign a new deal with Wigan.
And with his profile rising following his part in England’s wins against Andorra and Croatia, Bruce fears that in January he will not be able to “keep the vultures at bay”. “It’s a concern, but Emile is within his rights to let his contract run,” said the Wigan manager.
“We’d snap him up tomorrow if we could but he just wants to concentrate on playing. We will keep chipping away at him.
“He is big, strong and brave, and is possibly playing as well as he ever has.
He is the best English-type centre-forward bar none
“At one stage he was a kicking-block for fans, which was unfair. But I said when I was at Birmingham that he is the best English-type centre-forward bar none.”
Heskey was also a kicking-block for Croatia fans in Zagreb on Wednesday and the FA have submitted a report to FIFA and asked them to investigate allegations of racial abuse. Home fans were heard making monkey chants towards the striker after he was booked.
A spokesman for the FA said: “It is totally unacceptable for anyone to be subjected to racial abuse and we will be asking FIFA to investigate this.”