Town boss Paul Jewell has revealed that skipper Grant Leadbitter has turned down the Blues’ initial contract offer. The 25-year-old's current terms are up at the end of the season with his representatives having held talks with owner Marcus Evans in recent weeks.

Jewell said: “Grant and his advisors sat down with the owner to discuss a new deal and it wasn’t quite what he was looking for. I’ve spoken to Grant and he seems cool with the situation. I’m comfortable with it too.

“I’ve said to all the players that if they play well for us then we might have to pay them more than someone else.

“If we get players that are striving to get a deal then it benefits the team. Grant’s playing as well as he has for us since I’ve been here at the moment so it can work positively for both parties sometimes.”

Leadbitter is one of 18 players whose terms are up either during or at the end of the season. Mark Kennedy, Tommy Smith, Shane O’Connor, Carlos Edwards, Ibrahima Sonko, Ívar Ingimarsson, Lee Bowyer, Josh Carson, Colin Healy, Luke Hyam, Jason Scotland, Tamás Priskin, Ronan Murray, Cody Cropper and Cormac Burke all have deals which end on June 30th next year, although some of those contracts include options for a further season.

Jack Ainsley and Jamie Griffiths, who is currently on loan at Plymouth, have six-month contracts, which are up at the end of December.

Jewell says he has spoken to some of those whose deals are up in June, who will be able to talk to other clubs regarding contracts for next season from January, and says there’s no panic from either side: "I’m comfortable with the situation. No-one’s knocked on my door and asked to sit down and discuss contracts, but I’m sure that will happen if we continue to play as well as we have done.

“It’s not just the lads in the final year of their contracts that we will talk to, we might also look to extend deals for the likes of young Aaron Cresswell who’s done very well. Things will hopefully be a lot clearer in a couple of months’ time.”

Blues boss Jewell has said on a number of occasions that he doesn’t want a repeat of last season’s Gareth McAuley and David Norris contract saga, while last month Leadbitter told him he wanted to remain at Portman Road.

In August TWTD revealed that Portsmouth had made an offer for the former Sunderland man but at a level well below the Blues’ expectations.

Elsewhere, new loanee Reece Wabara says he'll change his controversial yellow boots if manager Paul Jewell, who made comment on the Manchester City man's footwear after the weekend victory over Brighton, asks him to do so: “I’m happy to change them if he wants me to.

"I’m fully aware of the rivalry [with Norwich] and I’ve had a few tweets about the boots already!”

Meanwhile, many of the Town squad, staff and a number of ex-players are competing at the club's golf day at the Five Lakes Hotel, Golf, Country Club and Spa today.

Photo: Action Images

blueoff added 10:49 - Oct 5 Charge him subs of £10 a match to play for Town, that's what supporters on a Sunday morning have to pay for the love of the game
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BoredWithThisNow added 10:51 - Oct 5 See ya then. Bellend.
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bluecrossy added 10:51 - Oct 5 Just what we needed after our great run of form.. Could disrupt the whole team.
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pazelle added 10:56 - Oct 5 Half the squad's contacts are up again! Let's get the lads committed and their futures clarified asap. The way modern football is, the player benefits so much from moving clubs that loyalty and a consistent season upon season line up seems nearly impossible! Tommy Smith, Carlos Edwards, Ibrahima Sonko, Lee Bowyer, Josh Carson, Luke Hyam, Jason Scotland, Tamás Priskin, Ronan Murray, Cody Cropper and Cormac Burke should all be rewarded with new contracts!

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DanLyles added 10:57 - Oct 5 Would a shame to lose Leadbitter just as he starts to show what he is capable of in a blue shirt. However, I can see a JET eventually playing behind Chopra and Scotland when he is 100% fit.
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SouperJim added 10:58 - Oct 5 I think I can sum up all the comments to follow:- ~ e p i c ~ f l o u n c e ~
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Marshalls_Mullet added 11:02 - Oct 5 Players striving for a new deal?! They shouldnt just play well in the final year of their conract!! They should strive all the time. I know this season Grant is playing well as the rest of the midfield is strong, but he has underperformed for the majority of his contract. ....dont see any players asking for a decrease in salary when the consistently under perform!!

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ArnieMsBigToe added 11:12 - Oct 5 Oh dear. Never mind. Close the door on the way out. Still don't rate head butter very much?? He still seems to be missing quite a few passes???
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broomfield123 added 11:16 - Oct 5 To be honest with norris and mcauly going its done us a favour in the long run
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Bergholtblue added 11:16 - Oct 5 Of course he would turn down the first offer. No-one accepts the first offer. This is what negotiation is all about. The thing is not to let him walk for nothing. If he is still stalling by January, get rid during the transfer window.
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itfc1981 added 11:18 - Oct 5 Two months playing well in two years is not good enough!
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Wallingford_Boy added 11:21 - Oct 5 I'd only keep Sonko and Bowyer out of the lot whose contracts are up, the likes of Smith, Kenneday, Hyam, etc really need to be shipped out.
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La_Paz added 11:23 - Oct 5 Get Sonko in and give him a new deal quick. Edwards, Scotland and Carson also deserve new deals, along with Bowyer if he wants to play another year. The massive turnover of players in the last few seasons has left us with quite a large squad and it may be that many of the others will move on. Depends very much on where we finish this season I suppose.
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ventilator added 11:26 - Oct 5 The question is, is he playing well because he is looking to get a better contract, and if so, will he revert to his old ways once signing on the dotted line ? Or is he playing well because he is playing in a position he enjoys, which within a short space of time has shown him to be an asset to the team ? What do people think ??
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clive_baker added 11:26 - Oct 5 I wonder how this will pan out: Leadbitter: I really want to stay, it isn't about money, i want 3 years instead of 2, i'm not holding the club to ransom, i love this place. 4 rejected contracts later.... "Leadbitter signs for Portsmouth"
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Superfrans added 11:44 - Oct 5 To be honest, the only of these players who I would definitely want to keep are: Carlos Edwards, Ibrahima Sonko, Lee Bowyer, Josh Carson, Jason Scotland, Ronan Murray. The jury is out on Cody Cropper and Cormac Burke. Not really certain we would miss any of the others - Mark Kennedy, Tommy Smith, Shane O'Connor, Ívar Ingimarsson, Colin Healy, Luke Hyam, Tamás Priskin.

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Ipswich24 added 11:46 - Oct 5 If he has not signed by jan need to sell for £1m we cannot afford to let another player just go for free
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are_these_the_days added 11:48 - Oct 5 Even when he's 'playing well' he's still the weakest link. Get rid while we can achieve something for him
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Tractorog added 12:11 - Oct 5 If we are at the top end of the table by January it will make the negotiations a lot easier.
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BlueVelvet added 12:16 - Oct 5 Performance related pay is the way to go , too often players will impress ahead of deals being negotiated and then when thet are doen they just switch off. keep the deal to a low base figure with add ons for appearances and an add on to cover contribution they made to the seasons result. PJ doubling up on pitch positons will hopefully stop players (and their leach like representatives) from ransoming the club - no player can be indespensable. Put him on the transfer list if he's not signed by xmas.

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Mark added 12:28 - Oct 5 It's McAuley and Norris all over again. Surely the "first offer" should have been June, July time so that if he rejected it we could sell him to recoup some of the ridiculous £2.6M we paid on him. It's true that Grant's performances have improved of late, but he hasn't shown anything like the level of display to justify that sort of money and the big wages that go with it. Sonko would be my priority to sign up as he took a big wage cut to join us and looks excellent value for money. Edwards has performed very well too and is fir for his age, so signing him up would be welcome. All the others can wait based on their age or ability. As for the footwear, wouldn't it be refreshing to see more players opting for traditional black boots rather than look-at-me florescent colours?!

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buryblue77 added 12:34 - Oct 5 I wouldn't personally offer him a new deal, I don't think we've seen enough from him in his 2 years here, although he's put in some good performances in the last few games his games at the start of the season were woeful, almost criminal!! He must be on a decent wage and is certainly going to want to at least equal his current deal, try to sell him in January and then we need 2 more midfielders (I like the diamond idea and true wingers don't seem to exist anymore) an attacking midfielder to slot in between the strikers and the main midfield and a holding midfielder because as good as we've got here in Bullard, Bowyer and Andrews (hopefully we'll sign him permanently) we don't have an outright attacking midfielder or an outright holding midfielder, but use the adaptability of those we have to fill those roles.

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KenDubZ added 12:36 - Oct 5 Leadbitter who cares we dont want you, your dog, you cry like a little girl when things dont go your way, your a wessel matter of fact how did you even get offered a contract. At the minute I would have Bullard,Bowyer and Andrews in there and if Andrews dont sign then I would have Drury in there rather than you!!
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Daleyitfc added 12:41 - Oct 5 Good to see that most of the rubbish can disappear next summer. Leadbitter has Donebetter lately but not worth keeping even so. From that list I'd offer new contracts to Sonko and O'Connor (a harshly treated lad) and possibly another year to Edwards and Scotland.
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barnettractor added 12:43 - Oct 5 Interesting time for the club when offering deals to average championship players. Our current form suggests a play off place (or better) is within reach. Do we really need players that will not be able to cut it in the 'promised land' on decent contracts. Leadbitter is an average Championship midfielder. Looking at any squad, you will want to continually improve on what you have, and of the current batch of the clubs midfielders Leadbitter is probably the weak link. I would shift him out in January for a fee and invest in better.

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