Town's Czech target is reported to be Sparta Prague central defender Jan Simunek. Chief scout Steve McCall and first team coach Bryan Klug made a trip to the Czech capital on Monday, earlier than was suggested by previous reports.

The game they will have attended was Sparta's home match with Town's 2002 UEFA Cup opponents Slovan Liberec, which the home side won 1-0.

Simunek, 20, recently captained his national side at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Canada, and has only just returned to Sparta after a season on loan with SK Kladno. The Slovan game was his first league appearance and only his fourth senior match for Sparta.

Born in Prague, Simunek played youth football in Switzerland where his father Milan, a former Slavia player, ended his career before returning to his home country.

The 6ft 1in tall defender was part of the youth set-up at another club the Blues have faced in the UEFA Cup, Bohemians, who were at Portman Road in 1980, before joining Sparta in 1999 and progressing through to their B side.

Boss Jim Magilton has confirmed the trip but not the identity of the player watched: “They went on Monday to look at a guy and are back now. It is something we may follow up. We are trying to bring in someone on loan.”

The Blues are short of cover at centre-half with Richard Naylor out for three months after a toe operation and Spanish target César Navas sidelined for five-to-seven more weeks with the broken metatarsal he picked up in the friendly at Crawley while on trial with the Blues.

Meanwhile, Franny Jeffers's move from Blackburn to Town's Saturday opponents Sheffield Wednesday is inching ever closer. The fee is now reported to be £700,000 and Rovers chairman John Williams says talks between the Owls and Jeffers are ongoing: "Francis has formally got permission to speak to Sheffield Wednesday and we understand discussions are taking place."

Elsewhere, former Blue Gavin Johnson is set to return to Suffolk to sign for Bury Town.

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