YAKUBU could still turn out in the National League as away-day specialists Boreham Wood refuse to give up on signing the ex-Everton forward.
The Nigerian, 33, has been without a club since leaving Turkish side Kayserispor at the end of last season.
He pulled on a Wood shirt in pre-season in a friendly with his old employers Reading, but they couldn’t convince him to sign a deal and it seemed like the high-profile move had fizzled out.
But manager Luke Garrard has revealed the player is back on the scene – and is even paying to watch the team’s matches!
The Hertfordshire club is pulling out all the stops to get the former Middlesbrough, Blackburn and Portsmouth poacher to spearhead their bid for a play-off place and a deal could materialise soon.
“Yak is courteous, he comes and watches the games and even pays to get in. He’s fully on board with what I’m doing and what the club are doing,” Garrard said.
“He lives very close to the ground and we originally got in touch in the summer through a mutual friend.
“I’m trying my hardest to get him here but as it stands we’re not entirely sure what his plans are. We would love to have him involved.”
A coaching role may be in the offing, with Wood’s highly-regarded PASE academy continuing to go from strength to strength.
Testament
Garrard confirmed that Yakubu has been lending a hard with first-team training and added: “I’m really pleased to have Yak involved at the club.
“He teaches things I haven’t seen before because he has played at the highest level.”
Rookie boss Garrard, the former AFC Wimbledon right-back, will want his team to start performing at Meadow Park as well as they are on the road.
Wood’s form away from home is fantastic – the 2-0 success at high-flying Macclesfield last weekend means they have taken 11 points from their past five games on their travels.
It’s not been so good on home soil with only one victory against struggling Torquay United since the opening day of the season.
“We’re unbeaten in eight away games and that’s testament to the players we have got in our dressing room,” the Wood boss said.
They have a chance to show their supporters what they can do in the league when they host out-of-form North Ferriby United on Saturday.
