Town are set to snatch Cork City midfielder Colin Healy from under the noses of Hartlepool, according to reports in Ireland this afternoon. Healy, 29, was previously a Republic of Ireland team-mate of Roy Keane's and was on trial with the Blues in the summer of 2006.

Cork-born Healy is said to be on his way to Suffolk for talks with Town, the club having asked permission to speak to the Irish international having learnt of cash-strapped Cork's willingness to sell him over the weekend.

The League of Ireland club had accepted a joint €50,000 bid from Hartlepool for Healy and team-mate Denis Behan. The latter's move has now been confirmed but Healy's switch to the League One club is understood to have been put on hold due to Town's approach.

Cork have confirmed that another club is in for one-time Celtic midfielder Healy, but have refused to name the interested party.

Healy, who missed Sunday's friendly because he was already in the UK discussing his Hartlepool move, played youth football for Ballincollig and Wilton United before joining Celtic, making his senior debut in 1998.

After a spell on loan at Coventry, Healy moved on to Sunderland 2003 but left for Livingston on a free transfer in 2005, injury – including two broken legs - having restricted his appearances for the Black Cats to 16 starts and four games from the bench.

Having left Livingston after a year, 5ft 11in tall Healy spent a week with the Blues in June 2006 and played in a friendly at Boston United, but was not offered a contract.

A short spell at Barnsley and a loan at Bradford followed before Healy, capped 13 times by the Republic of Ireland, scoring once, returned home to Cork in 2007.

Healy came close to being a late inclusion in the Republic of Ireland squad at the 2002 World Cup as a replacement for Roy Keane, but missed the deadline after discussions regarding the Town manager's return to Saipan continued.

Keane has been looking for a central midfielder this summer with Sunderland's Dean Whitehead recently turning down a move to Portman Road.

The Blues could also be losing one of their current central midfield players with Alan Quinn understood to be a £200,000 Barnsley target.

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