Oldham are rumoured to be holding a press conference today to announce the signing of unrepentant rapist Ched Evans.

The convicted rapist has been turned down by Sheffield United, Tranmere and Hartlepool since his release from prison back in October.

Oldham initially turned down the chance to sign him but it seems they have made a U-turn and the Welsh striker is set to return to the lavish lifestyle of a footballer in League One.

Professional Footballers Association chief executive Gordan Taylor confirmed yesterday that a League One club had planned a press conference to announce the deal but refused to name the club.

He said: “The club are due to hold the press conference tomorrow and I’ve made it clear to them that I cannot attend tomorrow.

“Bearing in mind what happened with his release and then of course the furore that we had at Sheffield United we feel that any club wishing to sign him needs to be 100 per cent committed to signing him for proper and legitimate football reasons.”

On Friday, Maltese side Hibernians made an offer to sign Evans but the Ministry of Justice blocked the move and said: “We are determined to have one of the toughest regimes in the world for managing sex offenders, to stop them reoffending and to protect victims.

“Probation officers must give permission for sex offenders on licence to take up new jobs and this includes ensuring they hold regular face to face meetings — this effectively rules out working abroad.

“The offenders will also be subject to strict conditions such as exclusion zones, non-contact orders and having to attend sex offender treatment programmes.”

Given the public’s fury surrounding previous potential moves — 160,000 people signed an online petition opposing Evans’s return to football, Taylor hopes that the club, Oldham, don’t suffer the same fate as Sheffield United did and that people will finally accept the former Manchester City striker back into football.

He said: “I don’t want to create a replica-type situation that we had at Sheffield (United) because I’m a little bit concerned that we need a press conference and that will invite, of course, many antagonists.

“We’ve made it clear in our statements that we feel he’s been unable to say much because of the appeals process, but he has served his time and the job of society is to look to rehabilitate.”

But within hours of Oldham being linked with the striker, an online petition had been signed by over 10,000 people asking the club to refuse to sign him.