Premier League new boys AFC Bournemouth have emerged as surprise contenders for the signature of Blues left-back Tyrone Mings with the odds on him joining the Cherries having been slashed to 1/6 by bookmaker Skybet this afternoon.
Mings has been watched by most of the Premier League over the last year or so with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea strongly linked.
Crystal Palace had a £3.5 million offer turned down last summer, while Newcastle were reported to have made an enquiry last week when they were said to have been quoted an initial fee of £8 million for the 22-year-old, rising to £10 million once further clauses were taken into account.
Bournemouth have previously been tipped to sign Everton left-back Luke Garbutt with a loan move reported to have been close earlier in the week.
Town manager Mick McCarthy and owner Marcus Evans have both said that they are determined to keep hold of the Blues' key players this summer, while Mings is contracted to Town until the summer of 2017.
Town's spending power will again be limited by the Championship’s Financial Fair Play rules this summer with MD Ian Milne recently confirming that the Blues' close season recruitment would once more largely consist of Bosman free transfers and loans.
However, selling a player such as Mings for a big fee would give McCarthy greater scope as he looks to strengthen ahead of the 2015/16 campaign.
Meanwhile, we understand the Blues are close to confirming the addition of Arsenal youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles on a season-long loan.
News that the Blues are targeting the highly-rated 17-year-old first broke last week.