Blues boss Paul Lambert is not surprised that the likes of Fulham and QPR are watching Flynn Downes and Luke Woolfenden, as revealed by TWTD earlier in the week, but says there’s no pressure to sell in January, however, he admits that the goalposts might move if very significant offers were to be received.
As reported earlier in the week, the Cottagers have been keeping a close watch on Downes, 20, who has made a very strong start to the season, while Rangers have similarly been keeping tabs on 21-year-old Woolfenden, another of this year's star performers. Both academy products are contracted to the club until 2022 with the Blues having an option for a further season.
"I’ve not seen that, you telling me is the first time I’ve seen it,” Lambert said when asked about the story. "Would it surprise me? No. It wouldn’t surprise me because of how well they are playing.”
Quizzed on whether it is a straightforward case that they won’t be for sale in January, Lambert admitted: "Money talks. In the modern-day game, it talks. If it’s a hell of an amount of millions then sometimes you can’t do anything about it.
"That’s the reality of the game. The money doesn’t really matter, if somebody goes in with £20 or £30 million or whatever then you can’t stop it, it’s too big.
"But those lads are playing really well and for somebody to take them out then it would have to be a few million, that’s for sure.”
But he says there is no pressure on him to sell unless the Blues were offered very significant money: "No, not at all. Not unless there’s £30 or £40 million coming in your door, then it changes the goalposts.”
Reiterating comments he made last week, Lambert says he is still to speak to Millwall about on-loan keeper Bartosz Bialkowski’s situation and whether the Lions might look to recruit the Polish international on a permanent basis.
"No, we don’t know yet,” he added. "The situation is that there are still a few weeks on that, so I’m pretty sure [general manager of football operations] Lee [O'Neill] will deal with that side of it.”