Town boss Mick McCarthy has been told be will have to pay £1.8 million if he wants to bring his former Wolves defender Richard Stearman to Portman Road, according to reports in the Midlands. The Blues boss was previously reported to also have targeted Stearman, right-back Ronald Zubar and striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake from his former club.
Zubar, 27, who can also play at centre-half, is said to be the most likely to join the Blues, while it’s claimed Town may look to take Stearman on loan given the size of the fee demanded with Wolves reportedly keen to achieve at least the £1.6 million they paid for the 25-year-old when he joined from Leicester in June 2008.
Centre-half or right-back Stearman has another 18 months remaining his contract, while Zubar and 26-year-old Ebanks-Blake’s both have terms which are up at the end of the current campaign.
Asked about the links with the trio last week, McCarthy said: "I signed a lot of those players and I’m sure that I’ll get linked with them, but I would not confirm or deny or give any credence to any stories because they’re Wolves players and I wouldn’t like it if it was done to mine. I’d say that at any time when I’m asked about players.”
The Blues boss, sacked by Wolves in February, returns to Molineux for the first time with Town on Saturday.