Perhaps inevitably, Liverpool are reportedly set to match Sunderland’s £8 million offer for Town striker Connor Wickham. The Reds have been eyeing the 18-year-old for some while with their director of football strategy Damien Comolli at the Hull City match in February.

Liverpool, the club the England U21 international supported as a boy, were recently erroneously claimed to have made a bid for Wickham but are clearly showing serious interest, while Blues boss Paul Jewell was said to be keen to sign youngsters such as former Charlton midfielder Jonjo Shelvey on loan as part of any proposed deal with the club where he was a youth and reserves player.

Reds boss Kenny Dalglish is now reportedly ready to firm up his interest with Spurs and Arsenal also believed to be eyeing the situation.

Wickham is contracted to the Blues until 2014 and while Town are not actively looking to sell, it’s believed there is a clause in the youngster’s deal which means he can talk to another club if they make an offer at a set level, believed to be somewhere between £10 million and £15 million.

Meanwhile, Wickham’s Town reserves and academy strike partner Ronan Murray is a loan target of Colchester United, according to rumours circulating amongst U’s supporters.

Town boss Paul Jewell said in April that he’d like a number of the club's younger players, such as Murray and midfielder Luke Hyam, to go out on loan to lower league sides when the new season starts.

Elsewhere, former Blue Richard Naylor is said to be a target of Doncaster Rovers having been released by Leeds at the end of the season.

Photo: Action Images

RetroBlue added 00:00 - Jun 23 Oh lets just get this over with as quick as possible , then ,maybe Town and us fans can move on . For what its worth CW would be barking mad to move to a Prem club right now ....if decides to move on he best pack his most comfortable cushion - cos he'll be using it a lot on that subs bench !!
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Garv added 00:02 - Jun 23 Phil you must get bored of this yourself! P.s sign up bam bam!
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mutters added 00:06 - Jun 23 Take the right money and run. One injury and we've lost 12 million. 8 million is not enough though
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RetroBlue added 00:10 - Jun 23 well if its in his contract that £10m triggers a deal , I suspect that is the minimum Town will get, given severakl clubs want him
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Tractorog added 00:19 - Jun 23 If we get anything like £10m for him it is fantastically good business. He could be a great but actually our record at bringing on youth since Bent has not been that good. For every D Bent there are several D Bowditches. He may have the potential to be the next Darren Bent, but to do that he needs to be playing champions league and premiership opposition fairly soon and although we talk about him warming the bench at a premiership club - he may well do the same here. Dont get me wrong he has fantastic potential - but potential is no guarantee. if we sing a winger and he Wickham is not banging them in from the centre, don't expect PJ to be playing him. He spent the under 21 tournament on the bench... that has got to worry the kid that his premiership rivals got to play. Another season at Town is all we are likely to get from him and he could even spend the next 12 months injured. If we get an offer of anything like £10m now then sell. Money talks. We can build a strong championship squad with £10m.

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RetroBlue added 00:23 - Jun 23 ...you make the assumption that Evans will be giving that £10m to Jewell - which could be very misplaced !
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JimmyJazz added 00:23 - Jun 23 Liverpool don't seem to be interested in a bidding war, seeing as they just matched Sunderland's offer. They know they hold the cards in a straight choice between them and Sunderland.
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bedsitfc added 00:26 - Jun 23 if its a deal that is right for us, connor and liverpool then let him go. yes he could be worth more next year but he could do a bowditch. if town are serious about going up that money could be used to great effect.
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PutYaBootsOnKeano added 00:35 - Jun 23 tractorog you are I are very much on the same page here. he's not a scintillating player per se. his touch is premiership, but i don't think his movement is there yet. he's also not the quickest. he is strong, but not deadly in front of goal. his 'potential' seems to be what people rave about; that's not enough for me. Dos Santos has potential. Everyone does. the best tend to bypass the 'got potential' stage. the championship & prem are very different leagues granted; he may do better at a bigger club. his biggest attribute is how awkward he is to play against. I really think we should cash in. £10m i'd be delighted with.

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tortoise added 00:45 - Jun 23 We all love the idea of the new english superstar propelling us to the premiership and beyond, but you've got to play the percentages. Chances are this won't happen. It's all about potential, we'd be foolish to turn down 10-12mill. However, getting him on loan back for a year would make it hurt a little less.
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bostonusablue added 00:56 - Jun 23 I agree with Tractorog. Sell. Sell. Sell.
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GiveusaWave added 01:33 - Jun 23 Its time to sell- but force Sunderland and Liverpool to hit that release clause. If its Liverpool- Shelvey for a season would be a welcome addition to the club. If Wickham goes- we should sell Scotland too and bring in another strong forward (Maynard would be a good bet- but I reckon it will take some offer for Bristol to sell). It will be a shame to see him go- but I can't see us keeping him. If we manage to get 11/12 million for him at this point it would be good business. Just hope the money is allowed to go to PJ.

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toforoge added 01:36 - Jun 23 All depends how much the clause is as that is the max we will get. If 12mil then we should take 10 now.As the risk of injury or lack of form is too great for 2 mil. 8 mil i think would be to low as i think we would be more likly to gain than lose and have anouther season with him (which i would like). Again it all depends on the clause. best would be keep him get promoted!!

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toforoge added 01:49 - Jun 23 This will take time as we are in the position to wait and hope the price goes up but if the decision to sell is made we should buy before hand ,as negotiations with other clubs will be more difficult if they think we have 10 mil or more to spend.
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HKBlue added 05:09 - Jun 23 If there was guarantee that PJ would have the money to use for his expense then yes I would say sell now in my opinion. However we don't know that so I feel either way if we sell him or keep him it will be a gamble, win or lose.
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floridaboy added 06:14 - Jun 23 For an untried 18 year old £8m is a very good price and Town should sell. Yes there is potential there but that doesnt mean a thing. All this talk - on here by the way - of the next great English talent is absolutely rubbish. At 18 years old he would be lucky to even get on the bench at Liverpool and maybe get a game in the Carling Cup but that is all He is an OK player but not the great saviour that so many on here keep banging on about If he stayed not even sure he would be a definite starter for Town next season. I would start with Chopra and Ellington. Can both score at this level and have bags of experience, which is what we need to get out of this division!

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itfc1981 added 07:04 - Jun 23 No chance for that price Kenny my boy.
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DiamondGezzer added 07:24 - Jun 23 Would have been nice to have seen him at PR for just one more season, but I'm sure he, and the management team will inevitably decide.
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pazelle added 07:28 - Jun 23 £15 million or do one. Plus, would be very disappointed if Wickham left without barely impressing in the first team - he'd have a great season next year up front in our new look team, theres plenty of time to move to a big club. Moving this early shows a lack of faith in oneself, cashing in like a desperate green banana when if he has faith he can take his time after getting us promoted and staying there! Bloody money I hate it!

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Plums added 07:34 - Jun 23 So we didn't reject the £8m bid from the Mackems then?
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floridaboy added 07:40 - Jun 23 Wickham will move because of the money. Nothing to do with football. He will be able to get a huge wage rise for sitting in the stand at Anfield! Think it is called greed. Sums up football really!
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fourth added 07:47 - Jun 23 Timing is important now and this coming season is crucial for Ipswich but one step in the early career for Wickham......the money clearly needs to be taken.
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JCB96 added 07:53 - Jun 23 Let's just hope if we do sell him, we don't waste the money on mediocre players. We need to have really good players, rather than a whole team of average players.
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dundeebloo added 07:54 - Jun 23 This is all just speculation there is no substance in it just Phil being bored wonder who his source is? A certain journo at the star!?
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dundeebloo added 07:55 - Jun 23 This is all just speculation there is no substance in it just Phil being bored wonder who his source is? A certain journo at the star!?
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