TWTD understands that the Blues are closing in on adding Manchester United midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe to their squad on loan, taking Mick McCarthy’s total of summer additions to 10.
While the deal is not yet done, we understand Town are very much the frontrunners to land Tunnicliffe and he could be in the squad for the final pre-season friendly at Notts County on Saturday.
Brighton were previously reported to have made a loan approach for the 20-year-old, while other Championship clubs are also believed to be eyeing the England U16 and U17 international, who spent time on loan at Peterborough United during 2011/12 and at Barnsley last season
Heywood-born Tunnicliffe plays in central midfield, an area where the Blues would still appear to require cover. Speaking on Tuesday, Mick McCarthy said he was looking to add only one more player to his squad ahead of the start of the season at Reading a week on Saturday.
Tunnicliffe has made two sub appearances in the Capital One Cup for the Red Devils, in addition to 15 senior starts and 18 games from the bench for his loan sides.
In April, Blues boss Mick McCarthy confirmed that he would utilise the loan market to augment his squad.
Tunnicliffe played in United’s reserves’ 1-0 friendly victory over Club Brugge last week, a game which was watched by the Town manager.