Boss Jim Magilton has revealed that winger Jaime Peters has been offered a three-year deal. The Canadian international's current two-year contract is up at the end of June.

Magilton said: “We have offered Jaime a deal and the club will now attend to help gaining him a work permit to allow him to stay with us."

Peters has said he is keen to remain with the Blues, having progressed significantly in the second half of the season.

The winger, 20 later this week, had problems gaining permission to play in the UK when he first joined Town two years ago. After signing a pre-contract agreement, the Canadian applied for a Commonwealth Working Holiday Visa (WHV).

However, the rules on WHVs were tightened soon after so that from February 8th 2005 holders were only entitled to work for one of their two years in the UK and were specifically banned from employment in professional sport.

This left Peters's application in a grey area, the player having applied in January 2005 for a visa which would not come into effect until his 18th birthday on May 4th that year, after the rule change took place. The club spent some time lobbying the Home Office, however, this ultimately ended in failure and the Blues had to seek another route.

Peters hadn't played the required 75% of international games with Canada over the previous two years and so failed to automatically win a permit on the Highly Skilled Migrant programme.

However, as with an earlier case involving Middlesbrough's Yakubu, Town appealed to an expert football tribunal which granted the Canadian his current permit after a July 2005 hearing in Sheffield.

It is this route which Town are likely to have to revisit this summer, although his regular place in the Town side and his experience of international football at a young age ought to secure an extension to his stay at Portman Road.

Get the fastest and most comprehensive Ipswich Town news service at ipswichtown.footballlatest.co.uk.

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls