Boss Paul Lambert has poured cold water on claims he is set to make a double swoop for Middlesbrough pair Grant Leadbitter, a former Town skipper, and striker Rudy Gestede as the Blues close in on the loan signing of Will Keane from Hull City, who is at the club this afternoon.
A report earlier this afternoon claimed Leadbitter, who was with Town between 2009 and 2012, and Gestede were part of a double Blues move with Jonas Knudsen, a Teessiders target in the summer, potentially going the other way.
Quizzed on the story, Lambert responded: "Well, if somebody’s going to drop a massive nest egg of money in here then you might look at it, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
"Two good players, two experienced guys, been at the top. But as I said before, I’ve spoken to a few lads to see if they would come and clubs. We need a bit of strength, we definitely need a bit of strength in there.”
Gestede is believed to be on wages of around £30,000 a week with Leadbitter similarly likely to be on big money. Is it simply the case that those sums are beyond the Blues?
"Well yes, but that’s the nature of the game,” Lambert added. "You can’t put the club in a position where we’re just going to spend money, you end up in absolute ruins. It can’t happen, you can’t bow to the levels of money, if it can happen, it can’t happen and you move on to the next one.”
We understand owner Marcus Evans is making significant sums available to Lambert for his January business, around half-a-dozen additions of which most will be loans, although there will inevitably be a limit to what he is prepared to spend.
"Marcus has been brilliant with me since I’ve been here, he really has,” Lambert continued. "I’ve got no issues at all. He’s put money in the club before, he’s helped me every way he possibly can with it and we’ll try our best to get the club out of the position it’s in.
"But everybody’s working together and that means a lot, everybody works together as we try and get out of this position.”
Asked about the Keane move, which looks set to be confirmed today or tomorrow, he responded: "I think there are loads of names out there at this minute in time. Hopefully next week we’ll get a few in if things go right.”
Is he frustrated, would he have liked to have had players in ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup tie at Accrington? "No, because I know the way it works, the transfer window. I’m not silly, I know how it actually works and functions.
"Until somebody crosses the door and everything’s done I start to believe it. I don’t hold with this theory of names being thrown left, right and centre. I never really get caught up with that.
"As I said before, if lads come and I know they’re in the building, then that’s a different thing.”
Lambert says Town haven’t really got the time to bed new players in, however, he says those coming in on loan are unlikely to be at full match sharpness having not been involved with their parent clubs.
"No, we don’t but I think especially the loan market, lads aren’t playing at their own clubs for a reason,” he said.
"They’ve probably not got a lot of game time at their parent club and we have to get them up to speed when they do come and you’re hoping that on that period of time they’ll be ready and hit the ground running.”
Meanwhile, he says ex-Derby County and San Jose Earthquakes winger Simon Dawkins, 31, continues to train with Town and is impressing.
"Simon’s been training, he’s doing great,” Lambert said. "He’s been training with us for a while. He had a brilliant time at Derby and I know what he’s like because I had him at Villa.
"He needs a little bit of match fitness, match practice but I gave him the training facilities to see how he does. But he’s done really well.”