Tottenham right-back Adam Smith says he wants to play Championship football next season having spent a successful loan spell at League One Bournemouth during 2010/11. As TWTD reported in March, Town, Reading and Burnley are all interested in signing the 20-year-old this summer.
Smith, who has now been offered a new deal by Spurs, says he feels he needs to step up to Championship level either on loan or on a permanent basis at this stage of his career, despite the Cherries offering him a deal: "I've done League Two [with Torquay] and League One, so I do feel that next season is the right time for me to test myself at the next level, which is the Championship.
"I think that I can play at that level and hopefully I can replicate the form that I showed for Bournemouth last year in the Championship, so I'm definitely looking at that level next season.
"There have been League One and Championship clubs showing interest and making offers for me, so I'll see what is on the table when I come back off holiday and make the decision what is best for me then.
"I'm 20 now and I feel that I've matured a bit having gone out on loan a few times and at the end of the day it is a short career in football, so I want to play as many first-team games and go as far as I can in the game.
"I feel that next season is a big one for me and this decision about staying at Spurs or moving elsewhere is an important one in that sense."
Meanwhile, Colchester say they have received no bids from Town or Reading for central defender Magnus Okuonghae, who was linked with both clubs earlier in the month.