Town boss Mick McCarthy is keen on signing released Hull City defender Paul McShane, according a number of this morning’s tabloids.
McShane, 29, left the Tigers following last week's relegation from the Premier League and McCarthy is claimed to view him as someone who could come in at right-back to allow skipper Luke Chambers to move to the centre of the defence.
Capped 31 times by Ireland, McShane joined Manchester United as a youngster and was part of the side which won the FA Youth Cup in 2002/03 but left Old Trafford without making a senior appearance.
Having spent time on loan at Walsall and Brighton, the Kilpedder-born full-back or centre-half moved on to West Brom in 2006 and then Roy Keane’s Sunderland a year later for an initial £1.5 million fee.
The 5ft 11in tall defender joined Hull on loan in the summer of 2008 and made the move permanent a year later, subsequently spending time on loan at Barnsley and Crystal Palace. McShane made 119 starts and 17 sub appearances for the Tigers, scoring five goals.
Meanwhile, Bolton’s Darren Pratley continues to be linked with the Blues, reportedly as an alternative to former Leeds midfielder Rodolph Austin, Town having been put off by the Jamaican’s wage expectations. The 29-year-old was linked with Town in February.
Elsewhere, ex-Town skipper and coach Tony Mowbray is set to add his one-time Blues team-mates Mark Venus and Jamie Clapham to his Coventry staff.
Venus, who take on a role as technical director overseeing player recruitment, previously worked with Mowbray at West Brom, Hibernian, Celtic and Middlesbrough as his assistant, while Clapham was on the Boro staff, coaching the U21s.