Town boss Joe Royle says that he does not expect on-loan centre-half Matt Elliott to join the Blues over the summer. Royle says he will be looking to improve the centre of defence and for a target man.

Blues' manager Royle says that ideally Elliott would stay but he doesn't expect that to happen: "We saw the difference that Matt Elliott made when he came here just by being sensible. We need two centre-halves who can play together.

“It would be very hard to keep Matty, I would love to keep him alongside John but it is unlikely at this stage.”

A front man to partner the likes of Darren Bent and Dean Bowditch is also on Royle's wish list: "My priority is a target man. We want someone who can hold the ball up. Too often it comes back too easily and puts us under pressure, so I'm looking for an experienced forward who can do that job.”

The fate of the nine out-of-contract senior players is likely to become known over the next few days.

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