Simon Clegg has reiterated that Town are under no pressure to sell 18-year-old striker Connor Wickham in the summer. However, the Blues chief executive admits that any player has his price.

Clegg said: “We have no need to sell Connor to balance the books. There is no need for him to leave the club. We are in a privileged position to not have to force Connor into any decisions.

“I anticipate that Connor will be here next season, although we live in a fluid world and every player has a price.

“If an offer comes in for any player on our books that is two or three times what we think they are worth, we would be crazy not to take it. If one came in half what we think a player is worth, we would be crazy to let him go.

“It is my responsibility, along with the owner and manager, to gauge where the tipping point is.”

Clegg says boss Paul Jewell will have cash for summer signings with targets already being eyed: “Paul will have money made available to him in line with what his two predecessors have had.

“To be frank, our manager would not have come if the owner and I had not indicated that money would be available to him.”

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich24 added 07:42 - Apr 16 Why do we need people keep coming out talking about Connor? The only reason is we are trying to push his value and pushing his name in everyones faces Clegg shut up man your full of promises but deliver nothing.
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DiamondGezzer added 08:39 - Apr 16 I know I posted this before, but reading between the lines once again I read ' He's in the shop window if you have the right money '. IMHO.
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Mungo added 10:46 - Apr 16 Barhamblue - good post Clegg has made a bit of a pigs ear of a lot of things (signing players and contract renewals in particular) however this is just a good honest comment from him.
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Blue041273 added 11:57 - Apr 16 Barhamblue I agree with you about the negativity surrounding Simon Clegg but why do you think isn't a good CEO? I know he gets the blame for every player we chase but don't sign but he can only operate within the budgetary constraints laid down by the Board and the Owner. He is not responsible for football matters but he is responsible for ensuring that his reportees (including the Manager) perform to the highest level possible. This embraces the wider aspects of the commercial activities and as far as I'm aware he performs his duties perfectly capably. It's widely suggested that the deals for Derry and Chopra broke down because SC couldn't or wouldn't agree the financial terms demanded. For this he has been vilified, but in my view neither would have massively improved things this season. Indeed we might have been better off if he had been a bit tougher in his dealings with some of the other RK signings.

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Mungo added 14:11 - Apr 16 Blue041273 - You are right in that SC appears capable of managing the wider operating and commercial activities of the club reasonably well. The criticism comes from his negotiation of the early RK signings (where we appeared to have paid significantly over the odds) and from allowing the playing contracts of the likes of Norris, McAuley and Delaney to run to expiry. If they leave, that will be £4.5m of transfer fee investment walking away, which is a lot for a club this size. As CEO, the ultimate responsibility for the financial management of the Club falls on him. I'm actually happy enough that SC did not break the wage structure to sign Derry or Chopra, like you say this is operating within the guideline laid down by ME, however greater care should have been taken with the contract renewals, which may result in a serious cost to the club.

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Garv added 19:43 - Apr 16 All you people moaning (ridiculously) that Clegg has said that wickham has his price, if we were offered 20 million are you actually saying you would want us to reject. Get a grip! It won't happen but its theoretical.
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Blue041273 added 09:04 - Apr 17 It would actually be very good if we sent out a message to all prospective buyers that we can reject ANY offer for CW. Whether or not realistically that is the case is another matter. CW is under contract to ITFC. Any Club who fancies him must respect that. The message is that we are not sellers; therefore any club serious in buying him MUST pay a price acceptable to ITFC. To my mind a reasonable comment at this time of the season.

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