Blues boss Paul Jewell spent Monday evening at Barnet’s Underhill watching Arsenal’s U21s beat Everton’s youngsters 3-0 with Gunners' Spanish central defender Ignasi Miquel likely to have been the reason for his trip.

If the Town manager was there eyeing potential central defensive loan recruits, Arsenal fielded Martin Angha, an 18-year-old from Switzerland, who was rumoured to be a possible Blues target in January, but his partner, 19-year-old Ignasi Miquel, is most likely to have been why Jewell made his visit to north London.

Miquel, who played against the Blues’ reserves in a friendly at Playford Road last season, featured for the Arsenal first team on a number of occasions during 2011/12.

The 6ft 4in tall Spanish U16 and U19 international who also plays at left-back has made one Premier League start and three sub appearances and one sub appearance in the Champions League, in addition to six starts in the domestic cups - one of them Town's 1-0 victory over the Gunners in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg at Portman Road in 2010/11. Earlier this summer he was linked with a loan move to Brighton and Arsene Wenger is believed to want to send him out for a spell to gain first team experience.

However, the former Barcelona trainee appears very much in Wenger's long-term plans and wouldn't be available on the loan-with-a-view-to-buy basis that Jewell sees as the solution to his central defensive problems.

Everton’s centre-halves were the rather more inexperienced 18-year-old Swede Johann Hammar and 17-year-old Matthew Pennington.

Strengthening at central defence is Jewell’s priority, but he has said he is also looking to add to other areas of his side, while he may just have been running the rule over the two Premier League clubs’ youngsters for future reference.

However, with scouts from plenty of other Championship clubs, including Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester, also present, Miquel would appear the most obvious potential target to have been in action.

Photo: Action Images

casanovacrow added 21:04 - Sep 3 if we have no chance of a permanent deal what's the point looking? Come on Paul, be realistic :-
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Talbs77 added 21:04 - Sep 3 We need experienced central defenders (you notice the plural there). Saying that we need all the help we can get.
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Dowson added 21:05 - Sep 3 A version of JET who puts some effort in please .
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yorksblue added 21:07 - Sep 3 Surely he was casting an eye over strikers and midfielders. Why on earth would he be looking at CBs? After all, it is an Ipswich Manager we're talking about.
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bontcho added 21:09 - Sep 3 Mmmmm, the clues given suggest it's not one of those for the short term as i doubt they'd be available with a view to a permanent move. May be looking more generally? The fact he left at half time (if true) is interesting.
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alliedaz added 21:16 - Sep 3 hes watching how to defend properly coz he aint got a clue and if you want bob the builders number ive got it coz he builds great walls
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bigolconnor added 21:24 - Sep 3 What's bob's number alliedaz? What a rubbish, pointless comment. Hopefully we'll get one of arsenal's youngsters and be tighter at the back.
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cressi added 21:34 - Sep 3 To be fair he could have mon night on the sofa so good on him at least his out there looking
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ipswich61 added 21:36 - Sep 3 jewell your a f##king joke,you should have been looking for players weeks ago now just go walk out the door cause your not welcome here anymore JEWELL OUT
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cookiemonster added 21:36 - Sep 3 I know we don't need another CM but wouldn't Frimpong be great!!!!!! :P
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marcus9 added 21:36 - Sep 3 think pjs time would be better spent watching leicsters reserves any one know if martin taylorof watford moved on deadline day he would do a job for us
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wkj added 21:39 - Sep 3 Maybe instead of playing a 4-4-2 like most fans seem to be begging for, PJ's got the message wrong and is trying to go for a 2-4-4
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wkj added 21:41 - Sep 3 either that or he reads TWTD often and is simply now trying to troll each and every one of us by scouting anything but central defenders as a laugh
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Edmunds5 added 21:55 - Sep 3 Shane Duffy on loan?, just a thought..
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Taricco_Fan added 22:18 - Sep 3 We could do with a couple of older, established and experienced defenders to shore up the back line. I can't help thinking Jewell is barking up the wrong tree here.
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MattinLondon added 22:50 - Sep 3 I don't want loan signings...unless we can buy them in January. I don't care how old the defenders just as long as they are better then what we have, consistent and pay attention at set-pieces.
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Dog added 22:55 - Sep 3 Ipswich61 - always had you down as a bit of a diva. Suggest you turn your Gloria Gaynor records off and quote another line. How About "you ain't nothing but a hound dog".!!
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J45 added 22:57 - Sep 3 Can't believe jewell is after more youngsters I think it could be time to bring in some experience to mix in with the youngsters we already have. Otherwise the side could become an opposite to last year and we could end up having to little experience.
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ipswich61 added 23:36 - Sep 3 @dog i can see your cleary a die hard jewell fan and got your heat stuck up his big tat scouse arse
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nadytractor added 23:56 - Sep 3 I believe people's biggest problem with this club is that they want to see instant success. Last season I read that all our players are has beens and now we have a couple of bad games with a younger side no one wants to look at the youth players anymore. This is a long term plan in mind here and we have to be patient. Yes we're not always going to get the players we want but at the end of the day Football is a business and we can't risk getting big names in in case it just doesn't work out for us. We must be patient. Come on guys we all support the same team and yes the last few seasons have not gone our way but we have to have faith.

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blue979 added 00:02 - Sep 4 the only players we want brought on loan are the type we have an option to buy on ! not just loan then bye bye and back to square one.
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TownOnTheUp added 00:21 - Sep 4 Miquel is left-footed, left sided, and can fill in at left-back. From what we've been linked with, these are positions we need covering, and I think he's a reasonable and good quality target, if a little inexperienced. Covers Cresswell (since Whight needs to be loaned out to get experience), and Smith. The one thing it doesn't fit with is the 'loan with a view to permanent' thing that Jewell seems to want, but I suppose he'll take what he can get if he thinks it'll get us up the table and secure his job.

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wkj added 00:40 - Sep 4 Matthew Pennington is a very exciting player to watch play for youths, he has bags of potential and may be an awesome future prospect
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TractorBoy666 added 00:43 - Sep 4 Me and my mate have been saying Miquel would be good to get on loan for a long time, so hopefully all is true.
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walberswick added 00:46 - Sep 4 unfortunately we are not the club arsenal or everton are likely to loan one of their promising youngsters to, wated trip pj..
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