Town boss Paul Jewell has revealed that he bid £1 million for a mystery Championship player earlier in the summer and also offered £800,000 for a similarly unnamed target from a Premier League club. The Blues boss continues to look to add to his squad — at centre-half and elsewhere - having made two enquiries earlier in the week.
Jewell said: "We made enquiries regarding two players on Wednesday, both Premier League players, and the answer has come back ‘let’s see what happens at the end of the window’, so what can I do?
"We’re trying to get the players in but the clubs are saying they aren’t prepared to let them go at this moment in time.”
One of those players was West Brom’s Pablo Ibáñez, who he wanted on loan, but the Town manager says he has also looked at permanent deals for players whose names have not come into the public domain: "We bid £1 million for a Championship player six weeks ago that hasn’t come out. We also bid £800,000 for a Premier League player that hasn’t come out.”
Elsewhere, former Blue Jon Walters has extended his Stoke City contract by an additional year until 2015.
Walters, 27, joined the Potters from the Blues a year ago for an initial fee of £2.75 million, which chief executive Simon Clegg recently hinted to TWTD increases as the Republic of Ireland international makes appearances for his new club: "I don’t want to get into specifics but it was good business for the club and I’m delighted that he’s playing regular first team football with Stoke.
"I’m delighted for him [that the move to Stoke worked out well] and financially it’s beneficial for us.”