Town boss Mick McCarthy is hoping to tie up a signing to replace the departing Ryan Tunnicliffe this afternoon, with Leeds midfielder Paul Green understood to be that player. McCarthy currently expects no exits from Portman Road before tonight’s 11pm deadline, dismissing claims of Swansea interest in top scorer David McGoldrick.
Tunnicliffe’s loan has been cut short with Manchester United selling the midfielder to Fulham and McCarthy hopes to have his replacement in the squad for Saturday’s game at home to Bolton but is unconcerned if he has to wait a little longer.
"We’re trying,” he said. "I’m actually trying to get somebody in today, if that happens, brilliant, if it doesn’t there’s not a great deal I can do about it and the [loan window] opens in a week’s time.
"In fairness, he could be involved tomorrow, maybe not, so it’s not make or break. We could take him for 93 days if we took him when window’s shut.
"It’s just a matter of getting an answer really. The player wants to come and it’s fine. Depends whether they allow him to leave. So I don’t know in terms of a percentage, but I’d like to think it’s a good percentage in our favour that we’ll do it.”
Asked whether that player was Paul Green — who Leeds boss Brian McDermott has confirmed is the subject of an offerfrom an unnamed club — McCarthy was remaining tightlipped: "I tend not to talk about the players I’m trying to get in because I think it’s unfair to the parent club.
"If the parent club and says I’m looking at somebody from Manchester United, Manchester City or Leeds then I’ll be happy to talk about it. It always just leaves it open for other people to get involved as well, so I prefer not to.”
The Town boss confirmed that Tunnicliffe is joining Fulham and wishes him well: "Fulham are signing him, as far as I’m aware. I thought it was a fait accompli that one, a done deal.
"He won’t be coming back here. There was some suggestion he might go to another club, that they’ll loan him out, but I think if Fulham signing they’ll want all hands to the pump, do everything they can do to make sure they stay in the Premier League.
"I’m delighted for Tunners. I said to all the players that if they play well here, if they want to progress and you go to the Premier League, then fantastic, we’ll get somebody else in.
"Tunners wasn’t our player but he certainly came in and played like that. If we’ve helped to get him a Premier League move, I’m delighted.”
McCarthy believes the 21-year-old is ready for the top flight: "I do. Ability-wise, he is. I think there’s more to come from him, he can do more at times.
"I’ve said to him I think I had more belief in his ability than he had. But I think they’ve got a really good young player, who if he does the right things in his career, he’ll have a really good career in the Premier League.”
Aside from extensions to Elliott Hewitt’s loan at Gillingham and Freddie Veseli’s at Bury, McCarthy expects no one to be on their way out of Town before the 11pm deadline: "At the moment, no. There was an enquiry about one of them, but that’s as far as it went. I’m not going to [say who it was].”
Asked whether he wanted to knock down claims Swansea were set to make a £4 million offer for McGoldrick, he joked: "I’d want to knock it up, to be honest. I’d want to try and up the bid a bit!
"If they are [about to make a bid] they haven’t been in touch with me. I can categorically say I haven’t had any discussions about Dids with Swansea, or anybody else for that matter.”
Speaking about having seemingly kept hold of his best players during the window, he hinted that the enquiry may have been for one of the lower profile members of the squad: "I haven’t had any enquiries about them, which surprises me.
"It delights me actually because Tunners leaving has slightly destabilised it a bit because he’s played most games and he would be playing tomorrow if he was here."
McGoldrick, who is understood to have been interesting Crystal Palace, trained with the rest of the squad this morning.
McCarthy wouldn’t be drawn on reports earlier in the week claiming he had had a loan bid for Wolves striker Kevin Doyle, who is set to join QPR, rebuffed.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Frimpong has joined Barnsley on a permanent basis from Arsenal, having been linked with the Blues on a number of occasions since Mick McCarthy, who he spent time playing for during a loan spell at Wolves, took over at Portman Road.
Wolves striker Björn Bergmann Sigurdarson, linked with Town earlier today, is reportedly set to join Norwegian side Molde.