Carl Ikeme believes Leicester's Matt Mills will soon join Wolves in Premier League
CARL Ikeme believes Matt Mills' decision to snub Wolves and join Leicester is unlikely to rebound on him.
Mat Kendrick
Sign up to FREE daily email alerts from BirminghamLive - Wolves FC
The 25-year-old Wolves keeper is a pal of the former Reading defender who moved to the newly-named King Power Stadium on Thursday after Wolves refused to meet the asking price.
Mills could conceivably have forced the issue as he was in the final year of his contract but opted to sign for Sven Goran Eriksson.
And Ikeme, who played four games on loan for the Foxes last season, believes he is destined for the Premier League with the Foxes.
"I know Matt and his decision to sign for Leicester is up to him. He has done what is right for himself." said Ikeme.
"Obviously he knows the reasons why he chose Leicester and I wish him luck.
"Leicester is a really good club. They've got good players and a set-up that has all the trappings of being a very good Premier League club. And I'm sure that in a year or two they will be exactly that with all the investment they've put in."
Ikeme's own future is rather less clear-cut as he enters the final year of his Wolves contract with no offer as yet forthcoming.
Mick McCarthy ideally wants the Birmingham-born keeper to stay but that would mean signing a new deal and then being loaned out.
Ikeme would prefer a speedy end to the confusion and says he is fighting fit after a shoulder injury aborted his playing time in the East Midlands last season.
"I had surgery on my shoulder and then two months after that I was back training again," Ikeme said from the club's training base in Ireland. Since then it's been full pelt from me!
"I haven't really got a slow gear in me. It's all or nothing and I am feeling good and strong.
"I've had time to rest and it's great to be out there again. I actually came back at the end of last season, started to train again then had a little rest and then I've come back stronger."
Like Matt Murray before him Ikeme has not exactly had much luck on his side after he broke into the Wolves first team with a run of games in the title winning season of September 2008 until injury again struck.
"I think it is just the timing of my injuries really," he reflects.
"It's never anything serious but enough to stop me in my tracks.
"The last one just seemed to take a bit longer. I was at Leicester at the time and they wanted me to play and I was trying to do anything I could just to play. But it just wasn't working. In the end I needed the operation and my time out just seemed to take forever. I came back but didn't have time to go out on loan.
"It wasn't a bad injury but that two and-a-half months just stopped me again."
QPR saw the best of Ikeme during his 17-game loan spell 18 months ago. Before then Charlton and Sheffield United had taken him for brief spells and before them Stockport and Accrington.
Another loan could beckon with Wayne Hennessey and Dorus de Vries also battling for the number one jersey at Molineux.
The uncertainty of short-term switches: "Is not ideal", Ikeme admits. "But it gets me games and if that's what I need to do then that's what I've got to do.
"It's one of those things. If I am not playing at Wolves then I need to be playing somewhere.
"I've been at Wolves since I was 15. Fortunately wherever I've gone I've done well. I've had a good relationship with everybody at the clubs I've been, which is great really," he says.
"I've fitted in straight away to how they work and I think I've done well in the games. The more games I get then the better I become."
Ikeme says long spells out of action prepare a footballer mentally for any challenges that lie ahead.
"It can be frustrating sometimes but in many ways I am lucky also. You just have to stay strong and I am strong mentally. I've also got some good people around me."
Ikeme's path to the first team has tended to follow that of another well-known custodian.
"There's a few similarities to Matt Murray but with respect, I don't think my injuries have been half as severe as his, but in the sense that we were both young keepers trying to break through. I am still that person, trying to break through. I've been here since I was a kid and a lot of the supporters are my friends.
"Even though I haven't played a lot the fans have always been great to me."
Wayne Hennessey
Birmingham City FCManchester United have made this Jude Bellingham transfer decision - reportBirmingham City transfer news | The Red Devils have been regularly linked with a move for the Blues starlet in recent months
Aston Villa FCConfirmed: Aston Villa player completes permanent transferAston Villa transfer news includes January departure from AVFC as defender opts for Portugal move