Town boss Paul Lambert wouldn’t be drawn into talking about other clubs' players when asked about potential new signings with Preston’s Josh Harrop understood to be the Blues’ most likely first addition of the January window, while Barnsley’s Luke Thomas is also a target.
The Blues will need to have got any incoming deals done - with Harrop the closest to being completed - and rubber-stamped by midday today for the new addition to be involved at Burton tomorrow.
Asked about potential new recruits, Lambert said: "We’re trying to get a couple in just to help them on that side of it but we don’t hold the ace card on that, the other clubs do, they have the ace card on that and we have to wait and see.”
Lambert confirmed that the moves which are being looked at are loans but wouldn’t confirm that the players he is hoping to land and Harrop, who came close to be signed a week ago, and Thomas.
"I see loads of names getting mentioned here,” Lambert deflected. "I never believe anything until somebody walks through the door. There’s no point in speculation. I’d never come out and say anything about anybody else’s players, I don’t think that’s the right way to do it.
"I see loads of players getting mentioned with this club and I think ‘wow, that’s pie in the sky’ or that’s nowhere near it. As I said before, I don’t want to talk about other people’s players.”
Asked about potential exits, Lambert said: "I really don’t know. Somebody’s got to want you for that to happen. Somebody’s got to enquire or whatever.
"Again, I think the football world has been devastated by what’s happened with the virus [and] because of the salary cap the finances in the football world aren’t great at this moment. I think it’s something where everyone has to wait and see what happens.”
Accrington Stanley are understood to be very keen on their former full-back Janoi Donacien and the Blues needing to offload senior players to keep within the constraints of the League One salary cap, while the Blues are unlikely to allow Freddie Sears to join Colchester despite interest from the striker's old club.
Gwion Edwards, joint-top scorer alongside Jon Nolan with five at the present time, is one of a host of players out of contract at the end of the season but asked whether there had been any progress on that situation, Lambert said the matter is in the hands of general manager of football operations Lee O’Neill.
"I think Lee was speaking to Gwion along with a few other guys,” he said. "I think this virus has taken over everything at the minute but I think Lee is talking to those sort of guys.”
Might there come a situation where Town might look to sell the former Peterborough man rather than risk losing him for nothing in the summer? "I think the problem you’ve got is that Covid has hurt everybody financially. I’m not sure what’s going to happen financially to football clubs or transfer fees.
"You can see it all over the place at the minute, not just at our level, it’s all over the place. I really don’t know, you’re asking me a question I can’t answer because I don’t know what the finances are, the way the world’s going to go at the minute, or the way football’s going to go.”
Recently there has been speculation that West Ham and Leeds are eyeing young defender Elkan Baggott, who is currently considering Town’s offer of a contract rather than having turned it down as has been reported, and TWTD revealed that midfielder Liam Gibbs has also attracted Premier League interest.
The midfielder, like Baggott, 18 years old, has also been offered an extended contract which the Bury St Edmunds-born youngster is likely to sign."
"Lee deals with all that side of it,” Lambert said when asked about their situations. "My job is to try and get the guys through. They’re babies, they’re kids who have done ever so well.
"Elkan’s done really good, really, really good. Gibbo’s been injured, but he’s got potential but you can’t rest on them. I can understand if people look at them and see the potential in them. Two good young players and you certainly wouldn’t want them to leave the club, that’s for sure.”