Midfielder Grant Leadbitter has told Blues boss Paul Jewell that a return to his native North-East is not “a major concern” as he continues to consider his future. The 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and is weighing up whether to stay with Town or move elsewhere with Middlesbrough understood to have offered him terms.
Jewell, who had a lengthy chat with Leadbitter on Thursday, says the £2.65 million 2009 signing from Sunderland is entitled to speak to other clubs but has told him that a move back to his home region — he was born in Chester-le-Street — isn’t a priority: "I got a phone call to say that he wanted to go back to the North-East but he categorically tells me that that isn’t true, that people are putting two and two together and getting five.
"The geography doesn’t bother him, the biggest thing is ambition and he wants to make sure it’s the right move for him. He wants to be sure in his mind and doesn’t want to be rushed on that.
"And, knowing the type of person Grant is, if he had something to tell me, I think he would have told me.
"He’s a good player and his contract’s up and I don’t think he’s going to be short of offers, just like we’ve made offers to other players who are out of contract at other clubs. Those lads have got to decide what they think is best and I respect that.”
Last week the Blues boss said he was giving the former England U21 international 48 hours to make up his mind but sees no benefit in pushing him into making a quick decision: "I think most clubs in the Championship would take him, so he’s got a lot of thinking to do.
"That’s why I don't think it would be wise at this stage of the season for us to say we need a decision now, take it or leave it. Someone wrote in the press ‘Take it or leave it’, but that’s not the case.
"I don’t get involved in the money side of it, but he spoke with me and the owner called him as well. We are keen to keep him.”
Jewell says that Middlesbrough may well have shown interest, however, having failed to land another Town player earlier in the season, he wonders whether they would be able to do a deal with Leadbitter: "I don’t think [it’s a done deal with Middlesbrough]. Tony Mowbray was very keen to get Jason Scotland but he couldn’t afford him, so I don’t where they’re getting the money to pay Grant from.”
Leadbitter will be involved against Millwall today, but Jewell has told his former skipper that he wouldn’t play him if he’d made his mind up to move on: "I’m going to try and play what I think on any given day is the best team to win a match because we’d like to finish the season well.
"I said to Grant yesterday that if he wasn’t going to be here next season, I wouldn’t play him at all. But he’s still seriously giving us consideration.
"I know Ipswich fans might say ‘If he doesn’t want to play for us, let him go’. But that’s not the case. I don’t want a good player go out of being a bit hasty.
"As I said, a couple of months ago we hadn’t even sat down together and talked about staying because I think we both thought he would probably leave at the end of the season. But I think the last couple of months have really changed his mind and certainly mine.”
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