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Why rumours of John Bateman’s Wigan Warriors departure re-ignited despite Wests Tigers “giving up”

Yesterday, there was huge news regarding John Bateman as the Daily Telegraph reported that the Wigan Warriors second-row was set to join Wests Tigers.

The Australian publication claimed that a $250,000 fee had been agreed for the English forward who has been impressive in the last two games of the Rugby League World Cup. They also said that Bateman was set to sign a three-year deal with the club.

However, Wigan Today meanwhile reported that there had been no official approach to Wigan for Bateman’s services.

Nonetheless, it was quite the surprise to see these rumours re-ignite after they initially surfaced a month ago only to go cold.

This was because the two clubs couldn’t agree on a transfer fee according to reports down under.

In fact, according to the Daily Telegraph, the Wests Tigers had “given up all hope” on the deal.

So, how did this potential transfer re-surface?

It’s all down to Tim Sheens. According to the Daily Telegraph, the new Wests Tigers boss has been persistent in his pursuit of Bateman over the last few months using the World Cup to his advantage.

It was previously reported that Sheens had arranged a meeting with Bateman during his time in England as he helped Italy during their World Cup campaign.

It also sounds like Sheens has ironed out some of the other details during the tournament perhaps even the contract length and negotiations with the club.

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