Boss Mick McCarthy says he’d like loan midfielder Guirane N’Daw to stay at Portman Road beyond the end of the season and that the player is also keen to remain at the club he joined on a temporary basis in August. But the Blues manager, who revealed he was previously interested in signing N’Daw when he was at Wolves, warned that wages might prove to be a stumbling block.
McCarthy says that as with other members of the squad whose terms are up this June, he’s yet to hold detailed talks about the Senegalese international's future: "He is out of contract at St Etienne in the summer and like everybody else, I’ve not spoken about it.
"I’ve had a very short discussion with Gui, which I think was on the lines of ‘Yeah, gaffer, I like you, you like me, we stay, you stay, I stay,’ and that was it, something similar to that discussion. So, hopefully, I stay and he might stay and we’ll be OK.
"He’s been fine, he’s done great. He’s done wonderfully well compared to what I was told when I came in.
"He looks really trim and thin. I tried to sign him at Wolves a long time ago and he has been a key player for us, he’s been terrific.”
That interest means McCarthy is aware of the wages N’Daw is on at his French club: "I would think we’re taking him on a considerable cut of his salary from what he was on at St Etienne, knowing what he was earning when I was trying to sign him.
"He likes it here and we like having him. He’s been really good, I know he likes it and he would like to stay and if we can do it, fine.”