Boss Paul Jewell says fans will learn whether midfielder Grant Leadbitter will be staying at Portman Road or moving on when his contract is up this summer from Saturday’s teamsheet at Doncaster. The 26-year-old was given an extra week to consider his future with Middlesbrough understood to have offered him a contract and Brighton and Hove Albion also linked.

Jewell, who admits that the former Sunderland man now seems more likely to move on than remain at Portman Road, said: “If he’s in the team on Saturday, he’s agreed to stay. If he’s not, it’s because he’s moving elsewhere. It’s as simple as that.

“I expect to know by tomorrow. We’d love him to stay, but if he doesn’t we wish him well and we move on. It’s a big move for him, I understand that.”

The former England U21 international joined the Blues for a fee of £2.65 million from the Black Cats in the summer of 2009.

Photo: Action Images

alfromcol added 19:43 - Apr 26 So is he going to tell PJ 30 minutes before KO so he can change his team. If he knows earlier, then the media (we should be told).
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PSGBlue added 19:43 - Apr 26 Hope he goes! True he has scored a number of good goals during the last few weeks but I don't feel he is a team player. The pace of Drury and Hyam is more effective, use the money saved on his wages to bring in someone with pace! With Bowyer gone, Leadbitter gone and Hyam injured who will Drury team up with on Sat. Maybe the return of Bullard!
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TimmyH added 19:47 - Apr 26 Yeah if he's not on the teamsheet against Doncaster then he's all part of the future for next season, that's how PJ thinks isn't it? Re: Hyam. So that's party poppers, I'll do the nibbles - who'll do the music?
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Michael11 added 20:21 - Apr 26 Is it wrong that i'm going to be at the Keepmoat stadium on saturday with my fingers crossed that hes not in the team?
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Mark added 20:29 - Apr 26 Leadbitter's been stringing us along for ages and I haven't thought at any point that he will stay. He will just move for the money on a free transfer, making him one of the biggest waste of transfer fees in ITFC history. As I posted in relation to a recent blog, he'll be our 4th biggest ever transfer fee loss: Sereni: Bought for £4.8M, left for free. Hreidarsson: Bought for £4.5M, sold for £0.9M. George: Bought for £3.1M, left for free. Leadbitter: Bought for £2.6M, leaving for free? M.Bent: Bought for £3.0M, sold for £0.45M.

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petermorris added 20:49 - Apr 26 If he does play, lets hope we don't get a penalty. Or a corner. Or have to pass forwards.
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runaround added 20:52 - Apr 26 Obviously his agent hasn't got a deal elsewhere fully sorted so Leadbelly is hedging his bets. I suspect no decision by Saturday and it wont be made until probably early July! Unfortunately players and more worryingly agents hold all the cards in these situations and there is little the club can do other than not play him which, considering he's been in form last couple of months would be wrong.

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Surco72 added 21:05 - Apr 26 Jas what about Drury,Chopra and Stevenson ? He has also got Edwards,Carson,Smith and probably Scotland to resign and who knows over the Leadbitter situation ,and apparantly Murphy will sign as soon as the window is open .I would say Jewell has sorted out 9 players and maybe 11 for next season . And why the constant call for a right back when our right back has just won player of the year ?

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planetblue_2011 added 21:08 - Apr 26 Hope he goes & hope to see Drury & hyam in the middle for next season. They play well together :)
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planetblue_2011 added 21:12 - Apr 26 Hope he goes & hope to see Drury & hyam in the middle for next season. They play well together :)
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brendanh added 21:23 - Apr 26 Squad player. We need better for promotion. Engine: 8, passing: 7, creativity: 4, flair: 4, shooting: 4, heading: 5, finishing: 5, tackling 6, Pace 5. Give me Hyam and the team that won five on the bounce in Feb any day of the week.
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RegencyBlue added 22:16 - Apr 26 For God's sake Jewell act like a bl00dy manager and make an announcement about the situation. This cryptic 'watch the team sheet' rubbish makes you look indecisive and weak. Oh!!
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Umros added 22:46 - Apr 26 Should never have played saturday just gone, crap penalty taker, bye bye Mr sideways and backwards. One purple patch in his duration - not good enough. On another note, funny how other clubs seem to be able to seal deals for next season now and we will still be faffing about in late August before the deadline no doubt.
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oohaahstevepalmer added 22:53 - Apr 26 Laters lead boots. Take bowyer with ya!
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GiveusanI added 23:00 - Apr 26 Grant do us all a favour... Middlesborough is a lovely place...
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braveblue added 23:07 - Apr 26 What a shambles this club has become. Does no one in authority realise we are becoming a laughing stock. Good thing is PJ may be forced to play Hyam and Drury again - our best midfield by a mile.
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tractorboy2434 added 23:41 - Apr 26 Brave blue, you have repeated what I have been saying for ages, the club is a shambles and stories like this are purely more evidence of it, clueless management, shambolic decisions which come back to haunt us, perhaps someone somewhere has an idea of what our objective is, if so can someone tell Clegg and Jewell because they sure as hell don't have a clue
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runningout added 00:04 - Apr 27 obviously Mr Leadbitter is on his way, doesnt take a genius... Hope he does well for himself : )
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BlueBhoy added 00:22 - Apr 27 A Typical case of the Tail wagging the dog. We dont need a wee scrote like leadbitter dictating to us. Surely we are still a bigger club than this. Jewell = Manager Then manage .
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WorcesterBlue added 08:12 - Apr 27 Sums it up really - Hyam treated disgracefully (like Drury before him) and yet pander to Leadbitter who at best has been ok and has never shown the commitment of the other two. Could do with him staying maybe but bringing in a proper Manager to manage him!! Jewell shows how hapless and inept he is every time he opens his mouth.
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buryblue77 added 10:20 - Apr 27 Well at least he's showed us what he's capable of this season with some good performances over the last coulple of months in order to play himself into the shop window. Sunderland mugged us right off on that one, £2.6m and we only signed him because our first target Dean Whitehead didn't want to come to us.
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alliedaz added 11:55 - Apr 27 i cant see why we leave it so long at the end of the day a player either wants to stay or go end of but why we keep leaking out information on who we are after we will never get them as a team with a plan for promotion for the last so many years and never works surely we evans must understand paying over the odds for 30plus players dont work there was a number of players what moved last year and we could ave got but once again we let every1 no who we are after and they just dont want to come to a mid table team and some of the players we ave got wouldnt even make it in our local pub league plz jewell get nasty and grow a pair and dont let the fans down

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BlueVelvet added 13:03 - Apr 27 Well the gun is against your head Grant. Very difficult. Middlesborough could be in the playoffs by fulltime tomorrow, is it worth the gamble. Town have clearly given you a deadline that doesn't permit you to know the outcome of Boroughs game tomorrow, probably hoping that you will bottle it and take their poor offer. Take a gamble, Borough will be in Premier league by May 2013 one way or another, but could be earlier. Of course, the gun may just contain blanks!

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Brazils_Hair added 14:55 - Apr 27 This situation is doing my head in - as is Leadbitters whole 'hot and cold' attitude since he joined us. He should show a bit more respect. I dont mind him staying as long as we get the Leadbitter who can actually play football as opposed to one that for 90% of the time is a nightmare.
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