Town boss Paul Jewell has confirmed that skipper David Norris and key defender Gareth McAuley are leaving the club with their contracts up at the end of June. The Blues offered the duo new terms before Christmas which were turned down, and despite talks continuing in recent weeks, the pair have decided to move on.
Jewell said: "It's unfortunate because we would have liked to have kept them. The club made them fair offers but the players are entitled to do what's best for them and their families.
"We offered Gareth the deal he wanted but in the meantime he had been contacted by other clubs and it looks like he may be joining a Premier League side.
"It was an offer that was too good for him to turn down and we wish him well. Chuck has other offers on the table as well and they are worth him taking.
"We are sorry to see them go but life goes on and we are already down the line in looking at players to replace them."
Captain Norris, this season’s top scorer on 11, joined the Blues from Plymouth after a protracted transfer saga in January 2008 for a fee of £2.2 million. The 30-year-old made 114 starts and four substitute appearances while at Portman Road, netting 16 times.
Portsmouth are believed to be the favourites for the Peterborough-born midfielder’s signature, although Wigan, Crystal Palace, Leeds and Nottingham Forest are all thought to be interested. Norris is understood to have been offered a three-year contract elsewhere, while only two seasons were on the table at Town.
McAuley, like Norris a Jim Magilton recruit after being chased for some months, signed for £1.1 million in the summer of 2008. The Northern Irish international, who was Town’s skipper for a spell, made 126 starts and one appearance from the bench, scoring eight goals.
The 31-year-old had previously been tipped for a switch to SPL giants Rangers.