Coventry City central defender James McPake has put in a transfer request. He is frustrated at the lack of chances to play and his wife wants to return to Scotland.
McPake recently signed a one year extension to his contract, so Coventry City will be get a fee for the player rather than losing him on a free transfer.
It is understood that at least three Scottish Premier League clubs, Hibernian, Hearts and Dunfermline, are interested in the 27 year old.
However, Thorn has a problem with losing McPake now as he has such a small squad to select from and exacerbated by the loss of Nathan Cameron who has a knee ligament injury that will keep him out for about six weeks.
Thorn will be reluctant to lose an experienced player so will not allow him to leave unless he can be replaced with another player with sufficient experience.
When Andy Thorn was chief scout for the club, it was he who recommended the Livingstone defender to the club and he joined in January 2009, but had his Coventry City career blighted by serious injuries such as a broken back and a dislocated shoulder which left him on the sidelines for much of last season.
Thorn told the CT, “James came to see me and said he wants to go back to Scotland and his missus wants to go back which, after his injury and giving him another year to get himself right to play, I am a little bit disappointed with, but if that’s what he wants.
"If people don’t want to stick around for the fight and don’t want to play here that’s fine, they can move on because I need people who want to have a go for the club. I think the club has been good to him so I am disappointed with his reaction to be honest.
"I have had assurances that he will give 110 per cent while he’s here, which is fine, but he wants to go back to Scotland so as soon as I can get a replacement in then he can move on.”
McPake has fully recovered from his injuries and has been available for selection since November, but he has fallen down the pecking order and has not been Thorn's first choice when picking the team.
McPake finds himself in a classic catch 22 paradox. He needs games to regain his match sharpness and fitness, but Thorn won't select him because he is not yet ready to play, but he won't be ready to play unless he gets games under his belt.
His quality and commitment cannot be questioned and he quickly became a fans favourite when he joined the club back in 2009. The club stood by him when he suffered his injuries and that is why Thorn is disappointed and a little annoyed with McPake's transfer request.
Thorn has picked McPake for some games since November, he played against Doncaster, Millwall and Southampton, but Thorn was unconvinced by his performances.
Thorn explained, “He [McPake] said he thinks he should be playing and I told him he had chances when he came into the team but I didn’t think he was ready and right, and needed to work harder.
“He wants to play football which is fine but I expect players to force my arm to play, but the minute a player doesn’t want to play they might as well move on regardless of what’s going on.
“I won’t let him go until I can use his wages to get someone else in, so hopefully we will get another one come in the minute he goes out the door.”
Thorn confirmed that the club had received a few enquiries from Scottish clubs, but was sceptical about a deal, saying, “It’s all very well showing interest but they will have to pay the money.
“I may look for another centre-half because Nathan is out for six weeks or use his money to bring in another forward.”