Gavin Williams, Owen Garvan and Lewis Price are all set to leave the Blues in the days to come, according to today's tabloids. Williams is linked with Stoke City, Garvan with Derby and Millwall, while Price's move to the Rams is said to be moving nearer.
Williams is claimed to be a £400,000 target of Potters boss Tony Pulis. The Wales international is yet to feature in a pre-season game due to his ongoing pelvic problems and move anywhere appears unlikely until the former West Ham man is back to fitness.
In January, boss Jim Magilton said he would consider offers for Williams, who is 27 on Friday, but set his price at £2 million. Swansea were reported to be interested at the time, but said they had been quoted £1 million by the Blues, a fee which was beyond them.
Garvan is claimed to have been told he can leave the club in the wake of his recent return to Ireland and Derby and Millwall are both said to be interested. This seems unlikely given that the 19-year-old is so highly rated at Portman Road and with Jim Magilton previously stating that the club will help Garvan to work through his problems, apparently relating to homesickness.
The Dubliner is said to have vowed to give up football completely before going home earlier in pre-season training and a switch to another UK club wouldn't appear to be a solution to his problems. Should he become available, the midfielder would probably interest clubs bigger than Millwall and Derby, with a similar previous report linking Manchester City, Fulham and Everton.
If a Garvan move were on the cards, then it is likely the Irishman would have joined Lewis Price in missing last night's 3-0 defeat at Stevenage Borough. Town rested the Wales international keeper with a move to Derby County increasingly looking to be on the cards.
Jim Magilton said earlier in the week that there are a couple of clubs who have shown interest in Price, who is 23 on Thursday, and plans to speak to him this morning.
The Rams are reported to have confirmed their interest in Price, whose value is variously claimed to be anywhere from £200,000 to £1 million. It is likely Town will achieve something towards the lower end of that scale, perhaps around the £500,000 mark.
Billy Davies's club are said to be ready to make their move for Price once Lee Camp has completed his switch to QPR. Price would be deputy to Stephen Bywater at Pride Park - who have already offloaded Lee Grant to Sheffield Wednesday this summer — and may prefer a move to another club where he would be first choice as he looks to win back his place in the Wales squad.
Hull City could still come back for striker Alan Lee after having had two bids turned down last week, however, we understand that the Irish international would prefer to remain with the Blues and sign the new deal offered him at the end of last week.
Magilton was disappointed with last night's defeat at Stevenage, but says results like that are a feature of preparations for the season proper: "It is all part and parcel of pre-season. You have good and bad and that wasn't very good. We had plenty of shots but our final ball was not good.”
Lewis Price will again be left out of tonight's squad playing at Chelmsford City (KO 7.45pm), but Richard Naylor and Fabian Wilnis will return at the back. Magilton may give Pablo Couñago a run-out, but the Spaniard is behind the rest of the squad due to Málaga's season ending later that Town's 2006/07 campaign.
Shane Supple could play his second game in two days with Neil Alexander more likely to play his first game at Rushden and Diamonds on Saturday. Tommy Miller will formalise his move back to Town on a free transfer from Sunderland on Thursday, while Jaime Peters has been given time off after playing for Canada at the U20 World Cup earlier in the month.
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