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St Ledger Deal Could Still Happen - Ipswich Town News

Blues boss Paul Jewell hasn’t ruled out Sean St Ledger joining Town later in the month, despite Leicester calling off his loan-with-a-view-to-a-permanent-switch earlier in the week. The Liverpudlian is, however, looking at other targets in various positions.

Jewell says the Foxes called off the move due to Sol Bamba being away from the club and not as St Ledger is required for the FA Cup replay against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday which was initially cited as the reason the deal was halted: "When we spoke to Leicester on Thursday, the feedback was that it wasn’t so much the cup replay, which was what I was led to believe on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, but the fact that Bamba’s gone to the African Nations Cup and one of the centre-halves has got an injury. They need to bring somebody in before they can consider letting anybody go.

"I think there was probably a mix-up between the chief executive and manager and the coaching staff. I understand that if they want to bring a player in, they don’t want to leave themselves short.”

He says the St Ledger himself was keen on making the move having fallen out with Leicester boss Nigel Pearson due to his lack of games since his summer switch from Preston: "I spoke to Sean on Monday night after the owner had spoken to his agent and I don’t think there was a problem there.

"His agent told me he wanted to come. It didn’t happen, or hasn’t happened yet. It might happen, it might not.”

The Blues manager says that while he could continue his pursuit of the 27-year-old, he has other targets: "He’s a player that I’ve always liked, but there are other players on the radar in other positions as well.

"We are pursuing other players in all positions because we, and everybody else knows, we need to improve the team. We’ve got a few injuries at the moment, but we need to improve the team.

"The squad needs to be improved but I can’t really put a number on the players I want, we need players in all positions.

Jewell, who expects to usual late flurry of transfer window deals throughout football, part of the reason he dislikes the current system, wasn’t thinking about additions at yesterday’s press conference, his mind firmly fixed on getting three points against Blackpool: "The most important thing for me now is the game tomorrow.

"After the match we’ll then have to start looking forward to Leeds and trying to bring players in. At this late stage on a Friday afternoon there’s only one thing on my mind really.”

One player he says he’s not after is Crawley’s Matt Tubbs, linked by a tabloid earlier in the week: "I don’t know where that’s come from. We’ve been at a lot of Crawley games because we watched Andy Drury while he was there. I’m not saying he’s not a good player but he’s not one that we’ve enquired about.”

Photo: Action Images

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