Blues manager Mick McCarthy is on “a collision course” with those in control of the purse strings at Portman Road, according to one of this morning’s tabloids.
The People reports that rumours are circulating boardrooms elsewhere that McCarthy is unhappy with his summer transfer war chest and could move on if "the managerial merry-go-round stops at his door”.
It’s not the first time that there have been suggestions that McCarthy is dissatisfied with the budget he discussed with owner Marcus Evans last month.
Former Blues striker Alan Brazil has said that he has heard similar rumours on his Talksport show several times in recent weeks: "I heard a little whisper that perhaps the salaries are going to be cut, not just a little, but massively."
Asked whether he felt McCarthy might move on, he added: "I'm not saying he's going to go, I don't want to start scaremongering but... you're looking to kick on."
Town have already lost out to Blackburn for the signature of former Notts County winger Alan Judge, while ex-Wolves midfielder Stephen Hunt has also been offered significantly better terms by other Championship clubs.
However, speaking towards the end of the season, McCarthy seemed relaxed about competing on an uneven playing field in the transfer market when discussing the limitations that the Financial Fair Play rules would place upon Town: "It’s not fair, but I kind of like kicking against fair. I like all that, a bit of a scrap between the haves and have-nots.”
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace have been linked with a £2 million move for Blues left-back Aaron Cresswell.
The 23-year-old has also recently been mentioned in connection with Aston Villa, who made an enquiry regarding the Liverpudlian last summer.
If there is serious interest from either party, the Blues are likely to want rather more than £2 million for Cresswell with his former club Tranmere due 20% of any profit Town make on the £420,000 they have paid for the full-back since he moved to Portman Road in July 2011. A fee of around £3 million would appear a more realistic price.
Released Sunderland defender Matt Kilgallon is again linked with the Blues, with the 29-year-old widely reported to have held talks with Town earlier in the week.
Town, newly-promoted Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Leeds and Reading are all targeting released Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, according to one of Sunday’s papers.
Blues boss McCarthy was the man who took the 27-year-old to Molineux but a reunion at Town seems unlikely with Ebanks-Blake set to miss the start of the season having suffered a broken leg and undergone ankle surgery towards the end of the last campaign.