Town, Leeds, Doncaster, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday are all in the running to sign Southampton striker Billy Sharp on loan, according to some of this morning’s tabloids. Football League clubs are able to sign players on short-term loans of up to 93 days from next Tuesday.
Rumours claiming the Blues are interested in loaning the 27-year-old have been circulating for the last week or so, but appear to have little foundation with manager Mick McCarthy repeatedly having said he is not currently looking to add to his senior squad: "We’ve done our business.”
In addition, the Saints are reported to want Sharp’s destination club to pay his wages — reportedly £20,000 a week — in full, a figure which would be well beyond what the Blues would be willing to pay.
Sharp, who spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, was a Town target during Paul Jewell’s time as manager back in the summer of 2011 while a Doncaster player.
The Portman Road crowd famously applauded Sharp’s goal in Rovers’ 3-2 victory over the Blues the following November shortly after the death of his new-born son Luey.