FOOTBALL: Tipton wants Bonis to stay at Ports
The striker is attracting the interest of a number of top-flight clubs
Portadown Manager Matthew Tipton says he wants Lee Bonis to remain at Shamrock Park for the foreseeable future.
The star striker has been the subject of strong interest from a number of rival clubs in the Irish Premiership - and while Tipton admits that if a deal is right for all parties then the 22-year-old will leave - he says staying with the Ports for the time being won't do Bonis any harm.
"Lee's still under contract with us and has four and a half years left. It's going to take something special to take him away from us. There are clubs interested in him and there's no point in denying that," says Tipton.
"It has to suit ourselves and after that it has to suit Lee. If a club meets what we want then it's up to them and Lee if he goes. First and foremost, we don't want to lose him, but everything and everybody in this life has a price. And if we think it's something that suits the club moving forward then we'll have a look at it.
"Conversations have been going on from manager to manager and boards to boards but there's nothing that we can confirm or deny at this stage."
It's believed both Glentoran and Larne have tabled offers for the powerful frontman with six-figure transfer fees being mentioned along with players-plus-cash deals. Linfield are also said to be interested in Bonis but have yet to make an offer.
But Tipton isn't swayed by potential big-money talk.
"Figures are figures - the player I want is Lee. That's priceless," he feels.
"You can have all the money in the world, but if somebody won't sell you what they have and what they want, all that money is no use in the bank.
On the possibility of receiving players and a fee as part of the same deal, he added: "It's something that will have to be looked at - whether we want that type of player, does that player want to come to us.
"There are a tonne of things that go into any transfer. If they were players that we wanted and the money that we wanted then it's something that would get looked at. There's nothing that won't get looked at."
The former Seagoe striker has been a revelation since moving to Shamrock Park in 2019, scoring 19 goals in his first season with the Mid-Ulster side.
He harbours ambitions to make the next step to full-time football.
"We want to give him the platform to do that. We think that if he stays with us for another year or two, it won't harm his chances to do that. It's not a case of if he doesn't go tomorrow then that's the end of his career. I've had that conversation with Lee and I think he's appreciative of that
"Over the two and a half years he's been with us, he's come from playing park football to being the most sought-after player in the league," feels Tipton, with the striker penning a five-year contract in 2021.
"You protect your assets. But we didn't do it just so people would have to pay us a load of money for him. We want to build something at the club and you have to do that with stability and putting your best players on longer contracts.
"We want to move forward. We're not in the position this season that we want to be, but football's football. We've lost too many this season and the reason behind bringing in three players so far is because we need to strengthen," Tipton admitted.
He's already brought in three players in the January transfer window.
Experienced former Coleraine and Crusaders defender Howard Beverland has arrived from Championship side Ballyclare Comrades, while young midfielders Jamal Dupree and Jack Smith have also joined the Ports.