Boss Mick McCarthy has confirmed Bolton Wanderers’ deadline day interest in Blues striker David McGoldrick but says a move was never close and has dismissed claims that he made an approach for ex-Town striker Jordan Rhodes, who is currently with Sheffield Wednesday, and that Crystal Palace came back in for keeper Bartosz Bialkowski.
Asked if there was interest in McGoldrick, who is out of contract in the summer, in the final days of the window, McCarthy responded: "Yes, but nothing close.”
Did Bolton make an approach? "Phil Parkinson was interested but then loads of managers asked me about him and Parky, of course, lost Gary Madine [to Cardiff].
"But that was as far as it went, I think they got [Zach Clough on loan from Forest].
"Yes, they were interested and I was speaking to Phil Parkinson but it never got so David was going there.
"Didzy didn’t want to leave, he wanted to stay here. I think if somebody had come in and offered him a three-and-half-year contract he might have upped sticks and left and, do you know what, I wouldn’t have blamed him because his contract’s running out.
"I’m cool with that, I’m pretty realistic and pragmatic about it all. But thankfully nobody did come and take him.”
Were Bolton potentially offering only a short-term deal? "You’ll have to ask Phil Parkinson that, I don’t even know if they got talking to him.”
Asked whether Town will now look to open contract talks with the Republic of Ireland international, McCarthy said: "I don’t know. I think they should concentrate on playing a bit like Chambo did last year. Chambo was fab, I go back to him every time.
"I think that showed the level of maturity. Chambo had a bit of a strop on deadline day when Forest were in for him and he wasn’t [going there] but he turned that around and I have to say I’ve spoken to Didz and he’s fairly pragmatic about it all. He wants to play and see what happens.”
Will McCarthy be talking to owner Evans about offering the 30-year-old new terms to try to prevent one of the club’s prize assets from leaving on a free in the summer?
"Who says Didzy wants to stay?” McCarthy continued. "That might not be the case, he might want to explore his options as well, he’s a good player, he’d be a Bosman in the summer.
"There’s no stand-off between me and Didz but I’m looking at it, if I’m a player, I might think, ‘Hold on a minute, I might get offered this here but I might get offered a lot more and a longer contract [somewhere else]’.
"So I don’t think either party are wanting to [rush into anything]. We’ll see what happens. Let him play, let him play as well as he can and let’s see if we can get some points.
"It might be a place he wants to stay if we finish in the top six. If we don’t, it might not be a place he wants to stay at. He might have a better offer.”
He says there was no truth in the rumour which surfaced in the final hour of the window that he had made an approach for former Blues striker Rhodes: "Not at all."
There were also claims Crystal Palace had revived their interest in Bialkowski, but McCarthy says there was no late approach for the Pole, who agreed a new two-year deal with an option for a third season last week.
"There was interest in Bart, but I told you a month ago that I spoke to Roy Hodgson and I spoke to Dougie Freedman and they told me he was on a list.
"Well, we’ve got lists and they’re very long and you start working down them, it could be wages, it could be something else, it could be this, that, the next thing why they don’t come. And we keep going down.
"Bart obviously wasn’t their first choice, was he? So, no, other than that, none at all. He was injured, and thank goodness Gerks was fit that day, to be honest, that was the miracle of all the transfer window, that he actually had a week’s training and he felt great.
"And Didzy, there’s been interest in him but, come on, every transfer window that’s come round since I signed Didz and he had his first good year with Murph, there’s been a story that he might be leaving, and he’s still here.”
He added: "The transfer window’s shut, which is brilliant. Unfortunately I’ve got no more friends, my phone doesn’t ring now.”
McCarthy says the final day consisted of a lot of talk but not much else: "It was just nonsense half of it, all wind and puff that comes and goes and seems to cause a little bit of a ripple, a bit of interest and then nothing. It was a bit of a pain actually.
"It was more of an irritant, an interference in my day, which continued on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in there, I’m taking the calls and doing it, but there was nothing happening.
"You seem to spend a lot of time on the phone doing very, very little or achieving very little.
"So that’s shut. We’ve got the squad that we’ve got. I’ve got 19 of the squad up on the board today [not including David McGoldrick and Tristan Nydam who didn’t train] and those 19 players are pretty good.”
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Kai Brown has tweeted his delight at joining the Blues’ academy as a scholar from Grays Athletic on deadline day.
Delighted to sign for @Official_ITFC , Proud moment for me and my family â¤ï¸, would like to thank @GraysAthleticFC and the fans for all the opportunities they’ve provided me and I wish them the best of luck for the season, #newchapter ðŸ¦ðŸ¤« pic.twitter.com/fXtueGkfLw– Kai Brown (@KaiBrown_7) February 1, 2018