Town boss Mick McCarthy says he's "not broken-hearted" that former loanee Liam Feeney opted to join Blackburn rather than the Blues and says Teddy Bishop could come into his thinking to play in a wide role during the season ahead.
Feeney, 29, had initially agreed terms with Town following his release by Bolton Wanderers but subsequently received a very significantly more lucrative offer from Rovers, where he was previously on loan in 2014.
"I tried to sign him, but I’m not broken-hearted,” McCarthy said. "I wanted to sign him but if he doesn’t want to come to me it’s his loss, that’s the way I always look at it. We’ll get somebody else.
"He was wanting to come down but I think he played for Owen Coyle anyway and maybe the fact that he was at Bolton [meant geographically] he can go and sign for Blackburn.
"He better play well for Blackburn, by the way, because they’re not the best of friends with Bolton! I tried to do the deal but if it’s not to happen, we’ll move on and do something else.”
McCarthy says adding to his wide options remains his priority but believes he has players already in his squad who can play in those roles.
"I have to say, wingers are few and far between. Liam Feeney’s gone off the Blackburn. But I’ve had Bish play at the right-side of midfield before and if he stays fit, who’s to say that he can’t do that? He’s quick enough to do it, he’s got more ability than Liam, there’s no question about that.
"We may have to do something slightly different. It might not be wingers it might be midfield players.
"But I’m cool with that. What is always interesting and excites me is whatever you end up with, because we’re not just going to go out there and spend loads of money and pick who we like, you do something with what you have, you manage the players that you’ve got and you evolve with that team. That’s always exciting for me, I kind of like that.”