Town boss Paul Jewell is said to want Liverpool youngsters such as midfielder Jonjo Shelvey as part of a deal to sell striker Connor Wickham, according to a tabloid report this morning. However, the Reds face competition from Sunderland, who were linked with a move for the 18-year-old yesterday.
The Black Cats are said to have made an £8 million offer for Wickham, which would eventually rise to £12 million on the usual appearance and achievement clauses.
Liverpool were previously reported to have made a bid at the same level but this is now said not to be the case, although an offer from the Merseysiders appears to be very much on the cards.
Blues manager Jewell, a Liverpool player as a youngster, is said to be willing to do a deal for Wickham and is believed to be keen on bringing some of his former club's current younger players to Portman Road if the Hereford-born frontman ends up at Anfield, including midfielder Jonjo Shelvey on loan for the season.
England U19 international Shelvey, 19, joined Liverpool from Charlton for an initial £1.7 million in April 2010 and since then has made four Carling Cup starts plus 15 sub appearances in the Premier League and a further two games from the bench in other cup competitions.
The 6ft tall Romford-born player was previously linked with Town in July 2009 when with the Addicks.
Wickham himself would appear more likely to join Liverpool, the team he supported as a boy, than Sunderland with Jewell saying in March that the England U21 international would only be interested in moving to one of the Premier League’s bigger clubs.
Wickham signed a contract tying him to the Blues until 2014 earlier in the year but with that deal believed to include a clause which would mean the one-time Reading academy schoolboy would be allowed to talk to clubs if an offer came in at a set level understood to be somewhere around the £10 million to £15 million mark.
Having suffered a minor ankle knock in training with the England U21s in Denmark on Thursday which saw him miss Friday's session as a precaution, Wickham will be hoping to win his fourth cap at that level on Sunday when Stuart Pearce’s side take on Spain in their opening group game in Viborg (Sky Sports One/HD1 4.30pm).
The English youngsters, of whom Wickham is the most junior and the only outfield player from a Championship club, subsequently face Ukraine next Wednesday and the Czech Republic on the following Sunday.