Town boss Paul Jewell has confirmed that 18-year-old academy striker Caolan Lavery has turned down the professional contract until the end of the season he was offered earlier in the month, as TWTD was first to reveal last week. The Blues manager says the Northern Irish U21 international’s agent was unhappy with the wages on offer at Portman Road.

Jewell says there are no ongoing negotiations but that the contract is still there to be signed if the Canada-born frontman has a change of heart: “The offer’s on the table, if he doesn’t sign it he can leave the club, but we’ll want compensation for him.

“It’s disappointing really because the lad’s worked hard. When I told him [he had been offered his first professional contract] he was delighted. Then when they told him what they were going to pay him, his agent was less than delighted.

“I always feel, maybe I’m old-fashioned, that when it’s your first contract, unless you’re an exceptional, exceptional talent like a Rooney or someone like that, the last thing you look at is the remuneration - you’re just so happy to be a pro player.

“But that’s up to the lad, that’s up to his agent. I just said to him ‘if you get somewhere else, you get somewhere else’."

The Town boss says not offering young players too much too soon stops them believing they've already made it once they sign that first deal: “One of the reasons I do it is because even with young players if you pay them too much money it can have an adverse effect on them. They rock up the next day in a new car and they forget the reason they’ve got the car is because of what they’ve done on the football pitch.

“I’m disappointed in Caolan and disappointed for Caolan because I think it would have been a good opportunity and if he’d have stayed for six months and done well, that strengthens his hand, but maybe he sees himself as a bit more than that.”

The Blues manager says a first contract is a chance for the player to impress and increase his value to the club: “I’m surprised he hasn’t signed because it’s an opportunity.

“The money’s not brilliant at all, but, as I’ve said to these lads, it’s not about money. It’s six months to the end of the season, if you set the world alight between now and then, you’ll be making a lot more money than you’re being offered now.”

Last season, academy manager Sammy Morgan dismissed reports linking Tottenham Hotspur with the Northern Ireland U21 international, while Leicester were understood to be monitoring his progress and with other clubs also likely to have been keeping a watching brief.

Lavery has netted five goals in seven FA Premier Academy League games for the U18s this season plus a further four for the reserves.

Photo: Action Images

Tillz9 added 08:14 - Oct 15 Agree with PJ. If I was his age and been offered a pro deal I would sign it prob without even looking at the money on offer !!
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broomfield123 added 08:37 - Oct 15 Bloody agents have ruined the game
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sereneblue added 08:51 - Oct 15 Silly boy. Don't run before you can walk young man!
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MattinLondon added 08:51 - Oct 15 Agents will dump players without a moments hesitation if they feel that they won't make it. Pity players don't seem to have the same attitude towards them. But then again he is only 18 and so maybe has been promised the earth.
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Ipswich24 added 08:52 - Oct 15 Why the hell you need an agent at that age? agree with tiltz 9 I would play for nothing at that age.
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tellitasiseeit added 09:14 - Oct 15 So Caolon Lavery's Agent almost talked Caolan out of a job with Town. His agent wants to leap into the big time using Caolon as a means of achieving it. Caolon take the offer,Then work hard to show them all that you are going to make it big time.Then you will be entitled to look at money and get a real Contract ( A big fan of yours ) COYB
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Dissboyitfc added 09:36 - Oct 15 Dam agents, agree with other posts on here, this world has gone crazy, he is still learning his trade, so what would be a poor wage then? 500 a week,thats still a lot more than a lot of adults earn and have to feed families on, doing jobs they loathe. Sorry no patience on this, playing football and getting paid, doesnt get any better than that and the riches can later. So sack the agent,sign the deal and get your head down and earn that next contract you greedy kid.

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Premiertown added 10:26 - Oct 15 Doubt if a 6 month contract would be £500 a week, more like £200?
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martleshamitfc added 10:50 - Oct 15 At his age i was earning £25 a week in a crap job - I would have taken a pro deal for nothing at 18 - then if you work hard and become a good pro you will be laughing all the way! wakey wakey Caolan!
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joshberry94 added 10:52 - Oct 15 lavery should just take what he is offered. he may get more money at spurs and leicester, but town have a good recent history of bringing through young players and he can move on to bigger money later instead of languishing in the reserves at a premier league club...
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irishtim added 11:00 - Oct 15 silly boy sign up prove yourself & the worlds your oyster
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bobble added 11:55 - Oct 15 when i was his age i lived on raw mussels and guinness, with no shoes and a tiny amount of tobacco to get me through the week .there wasn't a decent sized town within 20 miles so i couldn't even burgle for a livelihood.
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arablue added 12:33 - Oct 15 Come on caolan...you should learn from wickham who kept on getting improved contract upgrades as he showed his worth... Good on you PJ...gotta keepnthese young blokes feet firmly on the ground...
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bluepeter added 12:36 - Oct 15 Bobble, I was so poor that my mum had to sew together the mince so that we could have a joint for dinner. I wouldn't say we lived in a slum, but as soon as we had the money we bought one! My mum used to kit us out from the Army and Navy stores. I'll tell you it was no fun going to school dressed as a japenese sniper
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oddball added 12:39 - Oct 15 We do not know what he was offered and saying he should play for nothing is silly, also of course he should have an agent, should pay him what he's worth but maybe he has already other offers from clubs that we are not aware of.
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bobble added 13:04 - Oct 15 17 pound 50 and 2 butter vouchers i had to survive on every week, could never understand why if there was a wine lake and a butter mountain we never got wine vouchers.every september we picked magic mushrooms purely for the nutritional value and used to go up the hills once a fortnight kitted up like rambo to get the weekend roast ,if the lads of today knew how hard it was to catch a neighbours sheep in the dark while drunk up the side of a mountain in the howling wind and rain and carry it back home on your back only to find the gas bottle was empty and the turf was soaked with the constant drizzle, then they would play for town for 7 of our most excellent pies and a slab of fancy bitter..the youth of today they don't know how lucky they are !

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Garv added 13:07 - Oct 15 Numpty
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corshamblue added 13:26 - Oct 15 Not sure who's the dumb ar5e ? Bobble or the young lad, or indeed the agent.
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ITFCSparklepants added 13:37 - Oct 15 Obviously never done a paper round. Doesn't know the value of earning money. No matter how good he is if he has that attitude, then he's never gonna get anywhere.
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Sindre94 added 14:26 - Oct 15 Disappointed, but, we dont want players to play for us if they dont want to
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BotesdaleBlue added 14:36 - Oct 15 I'm really disapointed with Lavery, as I had high hopes for the lad, who had been catching many of the headlines below the first team It's so important to get your best youngsters signed up and I feel we are now building up a little bit of history of being unable to keep some of the younger lads who have been offered contracts. I don't know what the position is with Carson's contract, but I suspect there is an impasse on that as well. Whatever the various situations, I trust Paul Jewell 100% to do the right things for our club with regards player contracts.

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arc added 14:45 - Oct 15 OK, I agree with everyone saying that "at his age, I would sign, etc.," but if the agent knows that someone else is going to offer more, then Caolan is hardly being an idiot, turning down one guaranteed job for another one at higher pay. This is all part of the negotiations. Let's count ourselves lucky that we have a shot at such a talented player.
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BartsGreatBeard added 14:48 - Oct 15 see ya later then if you think your bigger than u are and deserve more money dont play for us i would rather youngsters who accept the not so best terms to prove themselves than players like you look at wickham thought he was ready for the premier league oh wait he never plays be my guest to follow him lavery
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Luggworm added 15:38 - Oct 15 Another part of Keane's legacy. He handed out contracts like confetti and now expectations are too high. PJ knows what he's doing.
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CornardBlue added 18:09 - Oct 15 This boy wants to get in the real world, thousands of youngsters with no jobs and no chance of getting one. He should thank his lucky stars Town have offered him a contract where if he is good enough he will get a chance of 1st team football. His agent must have been offered a big wedge from a Prem club to get him to move on, these agents are only interseted in what they can make out of these boys not in there careers.

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