Jan Andersen has emerged as favourite to replace Kevin Little as third heat leader for Monarchs in 2001. André Compton had been in negotiations with Monarchs and was also a target for Sheffield. In a surprise move he decided to stay with Newcastle Diamonds.
Kevin Little has been clear to talk to Newcastle and could end up teaming up with the rider who was earmarked to take his place in the Monarchs team. However it is not clear if the Diamonds will still be able to accommodate Little now that Compton has signed. They already have signed the Danish trio of Bjarne Pedersen, Jesper Olsen and Richard Juul plus Rob Grant. The addition of Kevin Little and a three-point rider, possibly former Glasgow junior Gary Flint, would give a very powerful side.
Jan Andersen would come in on a very low converted six-point average. He has the advantage of being a former Monarch and an Edinburgh asset. This means that Monarchs would have first call on Jan's services. Jan himself has declared that he wishes to quit the Elite League and move to the Premier with Monarchs his preferred choice:
"I'd like to finish my career in this sport with Monarchs, the team who first signed me. I still believe I've got four or five years left and think I can do a reasonable scoring job."
There is little doubt that Jan would be a prolific scorer at Armaale. He went well around Powderhall although sometimes seen as a big track specialist. Jan is likely to be one of the fastest starters in the Premier League and can prove difficult to pass when ahead. Jan has only ridden one year in the Premier League. He averaged 9.33 for Peterborough in 1998 before moving up to the Elite League with the Panthers in 1999.
Monarchs director Mike Hunter was very upbeat about the possibility of signing Jan Andersen.
"If we can agree terms with Jan he may well turn out to be a better performer than André. And he certainly has the ability to raise his average to the level of Carr or Robert Eriksson."
Assuming that Andersen, Eriksson, Brady, and Sneddon join Carr, Scott and Henry in signing, Monarchs will be well within the 45-point limit. They would have over two points in hand should. This gives some flexibility if anything goes wrong with negotiations.
Monarchs are looking for sponsorship to help fund their team building for next year, but to date not received any offers of the level required.