Derby County boss Nigel Clough has confirmed he has enquired about taking Jon Stead on loan with a view to a permanent transfer. Yesterday, Town boss Roy Keane said he knew nothing of a move for Stead but was aware that chief executive Simon Clegg had received one or two enquiries.
Clough said: "He is one we have asked about but I don’t think there is any movement in that direction at the moment.
"We have a few targets for January we would like to bring in and if there is any way we can do that now, initially on loan, then it would give them two months to settle in and we would like to do that.”
Stead was previously on loan at Pride Park in 2006/07 when a Sunderland player, scoring three goals in 15 starts and two sub appearances.
Meanwhile, Roy Keane held "crunch talks” with defender Gareth McAuley and has told him to remain with the Blues to help turn the season around, according to one of this morning’s tabloids.
Earlier in the season, the two were reported to have fallen out with the Northern Irishman losing the captaincy and revealing that he had been told he could find a new club, although Keane denied that any row had taken place. According to today’s report, the 29-year-old will not now be allowed to leave Portman Road.
Elsewhere, Suffolk Coastal District Council have confirmed that they have received a complaint form Roy Keane’s Aldeburgh neighbours regarding the noise made by his dogs Triggs and Izac.
A spokesman said: "Suffolk Coastal received a complaint on October 7th about barking dogs and has sent the complainant a letter and a noise complaint record form for them to fill in.
"If and when we receive a completed version of the form, which would list details of the type of noise, its duration and how often it happens, we will then assess what, if any, further action we need to take.”