Chief executive Derek Bowden has revealed that the Blues are on the hunt for a loan defender. Town have lost Ben Thatcher, Moritz Volz, Pim Balkestein and Tommy Smith to knocks of varying severity in recent weeks.

Volz, who has a hamstring problem, could be back within days, but Thatcher is out for around five more weeks with a torn thigh muscle and Smith is sidelined until March with a broken ankle, while the extent of Balkestein's groin problem is as yet unclear.

Bowden told TWTD that the search for players continues: "It's ongoing. There aren't that many Premier League players who have been loaned out during the emergency ‘window' so far, but we are still looking for one or two opportunities.

"We've got a full squad and now we've got a few injuries and if we could bring in a defender on a very short-term loan we probably would because we're a bit light at the back at the moment.

"If the right player became available on loan, in a position where we are light, then we would do it.

"We're looking continuously, certainly for left-sided players, who are at a real premium, and particularly left-sided midfielders, a position I know Jim has said quite often he is looking to fill. If we could do that permanently we would, and we tried to in the summer.

"We're still looking between now and the next window and also planning for the window after that."

The Blues have been linked with a number of Premier League left midfielders in recent weeks but Bowden says Middlesbrough's Adam Johnson is out of reach at the moment as he's in the Teessiders' first team, while West Ham have not be asked about Kyel Reid.

The Town chief executive says Chelsea's Scott Sinclair is a player who was the subject of an enquiry early in the close season: "Back in the summer his was a name which was mentioned, but he wasn't at that time being loaned out, although he has been before."

The club's wage bill has increased from £5 million a couple of years ago to £11 million this season with Marcus Evans subsidising a significant annual loss. Town's summer outlay on fees plus players' contracts appears to have taken the spending beyond Evans's initial £12 million investment with further expenditure on the cards when the next transfer window opens.

Town are unwilling to talk specific figures regarding commercially sensitive issues such as transfer spending and budgets, but Bowden says new owner Evans has kept the promises made when he took over at the end of last year: "Marcus has been true to his word regarding investment."

The chief executive also revealed that the Blues did not make a bid for Cardiff central defender Roger Johnson, contrary to reports elsewhere: "We made an enquiry for Roger Johnson and it was flatly rejected. It was early in the summer and there was nothing after that. I spoke to Peter Ridsdale and they were very clear that he was not for sale."

While the Angelos Charisteas story gained a lot of headlines over the summer, Bowden says the club actually spent more time trying to persuade FC Koln to part with Slovenian international striker Milivoje Novakovic: "In the case of Novakovic, which we kept quiet for a very long time, they had no intention of selling him and he's banging in goals for them.

"We had ongoing conversations with them about him. I personally had at least half a dozen conversations with them about him, but they were adamant that he was their goalscoring machine and they didn't wish to sell him."

Town were closer to signing Southampton left midfielder Rudi Skacel before that deal collapsed. The Czech international is still out of the first team at St Mary's but Bowden says there is little chance of the move being revisited: "Talks with Rudi and the agent had progressed a long way but broke down at the eleventh hour. I don't think there's a chance of it being revived."

The deadline for making emergency loans is Thursday, 27th November with the transfer window reopening on January 1st.

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