Town boss Mick McCarthy says he will be looking to add goals to his midfield during the close season with widemen again amongst his targets.
The Blues, whose midfield McCarthy admits haven't scored regularly enough, have lost a number of players who operate out wide this summer, while previous recruits such as Alex Henshall, Dylan Connolly and Cameron Stewart, who remains a Town player but is available for transfer, have failed to make an impact.
"It’s important to get our recruitment right this summer, but that’s no different from any other year really,” the Blues boss told the club website.
"The wide areas are an issue for us. We have lost Tabby [Jay Tabb]. Ainsley [Maitland-Niles] has gone back to Arsenal and obviously Ryan [Fraser] is back with Bournemouth so we need to look at that.
"Goals from midfield have been a problem for us over the last two or three years but we looked to have got on top of that with Ryan, who certainly contributed in that area. He was a real loss for us.
"Kevin Bru got a couple of goals, Dougie [Jonathan Douglas] is a goalscoring midfielder operating in the right system, we need to get Bish [Teddy Bishop] back fit and contributing in attacking areas as well. We certainly need more in terms of goals from our midfield.”
The Blues are already in talks with loanee Liam Feeney, who is a free agent following his release by Bolton, about a permanent deal and were recently amongst a number of Championship clubs linked with Southend's 21-year-old out-of-contract midfielder Jack Payne, who scored nine times during 2015/16.
Regarding 25-year-old Stewart, who has a year left on the contract he signed in the summer of 2014, having so far made just two Town sub appearances in the FA Cup during the 2014/15 campaign and spent most of the season just gone on loan at Doncaster, he added: "He’ll be looking to get a club.
"He’ll be back for pre-season, he was here [recently] and got weighed, his body fat was measured and got his programme for the summer. He’s in good shape at the minute, he’s not been playing, but he’ll come back.
"I’m always disappointed if it doesn’t work out, whatever it might be, because that’s a reflection on me because I signed him and it’s a reflection on him because he’s the player and he has to perform.”
Meanwhile, Maitland-Niles, who spent 2015/16 on loan with the Blues from Arsenal, has been named in the England U19s squad for two friendlies in Mexico on June 4th and 6th.