Town boss Paul Hurst says he can’t guarantee that Martyn Waghorn will still be with the Blues on the opening day of the season, the club having received “firm interest” in their star striker. Last month, TWTD revealed that numerous Championship clubs were chasing the 28-year-old with Middlesbrough and Birmingham City among those keen, while Derby County have subsequently shown strong interest and Nottingham Forest have also been linked and Sheffield United are now reported to have made a £5 million bid.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on Mark Murphy’s BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast show this morning, which can be heard in full here, Hurst outlined the position regarding Waghorn, who scored 16 times and recorded 11 assists following last August’s £200,000 move from Rangers.
"I’m not here to try and fool anyone, I never do. There is interest there, firm interest,” he confirmed.
"I’ve said to Martyn that I would like him to stay at the football club, we’ll see how that unfolds.
"I’d love to be able to say, ‘100 per cent, Martyn Waghorn will be in the team against Blackburn’, but I can’t honestly say that.
"But at the minute I don’t think we’re close to meeting a valuation for the player and I’d like him here.”
Hurst says he’d have to spend a lot to find a replacement for the ex-Sunderland, Leicester and Wigan man.
"It was a fantastic deal that Mick [McCarthy] and the football club did to bring him in at that level and also what he produced was fantastic,” he added.
"His stats were arguably the highest in the Championship in terms of goals and assists, so he’s a major player for us.”
Regarding incoming signings, with the transfer window closing on August 9th, he said: "We have [to move quickly]. We’re certainly trying [to get players in]. My phone is in danger of exploding, I’m having lots of conversations and other people at the football club are working extremely hard to do that.
"At the same time we won’t be held to ransom, we’ve got to get value for money, and that’s what we’ll continue to try and do.”