Cork City boss Damien Richardson has revealed that his club have turned down a Town bid to take midfielder George O'Callaghan on loan for the rest of the English season. The Eircom League side's manager says the Blues are yet to make a serious bid to sign the 27-year-old on a permanent basis.
Richardson said: "Ipswich Town have not made a genuine offer as of yet. They want him on loan until the end of the English season. He's been there for the last three months, so we can't even understand why they would want that.
"So we've turned that down. They either want to sign him or they don't. I'm hoping to speak to Jim Magilton and hopefully we will be able to sort something out. If it comes to a conclusion this week to the satisfaction of both parties then that will be OK."
Attacking midfielder O'Callaghan has been on trial with the Blues since September and boss Jim Magilton has said he is keen to add the former Port Vale man to his squad for the second half of the season.
The Irishman's Cork career effectively came to an end last July when he fell out with manager Richardson over a fine imposed on him by the Eircom League club and he was placed on the transfer list. Cork are understood to want a fee of around £50,000 for O'Callaghan, whose contract is up at the end of 2007.
A month after beginning his trial with the Blues O'Callaghan was briefly hospitalised by a bout of shingles. At the time the illness was wrongly reported to be meningitis.
Boss Jim Magilton recently told TWTD that he is aware of a number of other Championship sides interested in O'Callaghan.
Cork striker Roy O'Donovan, 21, is amongst the young front players watched by Jim Magilton this season and could be one of the Town manager's January targets. O'Donovan, whose contract at Cork is also up at this end of this year, is reportedly interesting a several other clubs including Wolves, Sunderland, Derby and Wigan.
Meanwhile, Chester City have announced that Town fans will have an allocation of 1,700 for Saturday's FA Cup third round tie at the Deva Stadium. Travelling Blues will have to pay on the gate and choose to watch the game from either 500 seats or a 1,200 capacity standing terrace.