Town and Norwich City are understood to be amongst a number of clubs eyeing Charlton midfielder Nicky Bailey. The 25-year-old Addicks skipper looks set to leave the Valley this summer with only one year left on his contract.
Bailey, who has also been linked with Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Southampton in recent weeks, missed the vital shoot-out penalty which saw Charlton lose their play-off semi-final to Swindon.
However, the 5ft 10in tall all-action midfielder was one of the Addicks’ best performers throughout the season and was named in the PFA League One Team of the Year.
Bailey was with Fulham’s academy as a youngster but moved on to non-league Sutton United, where he impressed enough to win a £10,000 move to then-Conference side Barnet in 2004, scoring 19 goals in the 2003/04 season.
After three years at Underhill, during which time he won England C caps and helped the Bees into League Two, the Hammersmith-born player joined Southend for a fee of £175,000.
Bailey won the Player of the Year award in his only season at Roots Hall, moving on to Charlton in the summer of 2008 for a fee potentially rising to £750,000, having failed to agree a new deal with the Shrimpers.
A central midfielder for most of his career, Bailey has been used on the left of midfield by Addicks boss Phil Parkinson this season, despite being right-footed.
Bailey, who would probably cost somewhere around the £500,000 mark, scored 13 goals last season, having top-scored during Charlton’s Championship relegation season, again netting 13 times, when he was the Fans’ Player of the Year, and 12 the previous year with Southend.
Town are currently short on midfielders who play on the left with Peterborough’s George Boyd and Tottenham youngster Andros Townsend also believed to be on Roy Keane’s list of potential signings.
The Blues are also likely to be looking for one or two additions in the centre of midfield with Liam Trotter having joined Millwall, loanee Jack Colback back at Sunderland and Alan Quinn, Colin Healy and Owen Garvan also expected to be on their way out of Portman Road this summer.