Portsmouth’s players have been told they will not be paid their monthly wages, according to reports this afternoon. The situation could have a bearing on whether the Blues are successful in landing some or all of their three Pompey targets — keeper Stephen Henderson, central defender Jason Pearce (pictured) and defender or midfielder Joel Ward.

Manager Michael Appleton is understood to have informed the squad of the situation, which relates to a bank account being frozen by HMRC, who have issued a winding up order against the Hampshire club over £1.6 million in unpaid PAYE. Portsmouth will be looking to address the bank account situation tomorrow with their court hearing on February 20th.

Pompey’s ongoing situation could see them sell a number of players on deadline day, although not necessarily Town’s targets with Australian winger Ryan Williams in talks with Fulham regarding a £500,000 switch, Dave Kitson apparently interesting Brighton and Luke Varney linked with Wolves.

Speaking earlier today, Blues boss Paul Jewell admitted that he is unsure how many of his targets he might land: “Whether we get one player, two players or three players is still up in the air.”

Town are reported to have been talks with the administrator of Portsmouth’s parent company Convers Sports Initiatives but with Pompey officials so far having refused to agree to the proposed deal.

This is presumably what Jewell was referring to earlier today when he was talking about Pompey's situation: “Complicated is not the word. It’s complicated to the nth degree.”

The apparent escalation of Portsmouth's financial crisis would appear to rule out Blues skipper Grant Leadbitter or defender Damien Delaney wanting to move to Fratton Park, a possibility that Jewell said wasn't on the table as far as he was aware in any case.

Elsewhere, former Blues loanee Keith Andrews is reported to have handed in a transfer request at Blackburn.

It’s long been known that the Irishman wants to move away from Ewood Park but manager Steve Kean had hoped to reintegrate him back into his squad after his return from Portman Road earlier in the month.

The Blues were interested in bringing the 31-year-old, who has 18 months remaining on his contract, back to Suffolk but may be less keen since landing Ryan Stephenson from Hearts over the weekend.

Photo: Action Images

RegencyBlue added 19:12 - Jan 30 Radio Suffolk now reporting the club "hope to bring in at least one more player before the window closes". Doesnt sound to me as if negotiations are going to well! And if you were Leadbitter or Delaney would you go anywhere near this mess?
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Baillie_Bear added 19:12 - Jan 30 Its a good thing Pompey wont be playing tomorrow. The down side is we have a game tomorrow and one does wonder what the priority will be. Trying to get in the players in or some how doing the double over West Ham. Either way it should be a decent crowd and who knows who will be in the stands watching. Chuck might as well crawl back, money grabbing player who wont get a penny this month.

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WoodfordTim added 19:15 - Jan 30 Right then, let's not panic. 24 hours to go and still no new centre back. I have not slept soundly for a long time and all I think about is where our next win is coming from to take us up the table away from the useless teams below us. West Ham tomorrow night. Oh dear, another restless night. Not looking forward to the game at all. Come on Town, I'm completely stressed out.

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PimsNumber1 added 19:17 - Jan 30 Liam lawrence is a good shout. was their best player when they came to PR. wouldnt mind kitson either , good target man .
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Kuqicoo added 19:28 - Jan 30 The plot thickens! I don't know about anyone else but I'm totally confused as to what's going on. It's making my head hurt. I hope there is a plan b though and not all the eggs are in one basket.
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alfromcol added 19:29 - Jan 30 Could introduce the new players at the game tomorrow?
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rogie_dog added 19:33 - Jan 30 I am extremely confident I will be seeing Ward & Pearce playing in a blue shirt by the 14th Feb.
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fourth added 19:35 - Jan 30 Naturally the bank accounts have been frozen. Deals are now through the Administrators' accounts. A great opportunity to place them over a barrel. Offer 1m for 3 or 4 players with a deadline of 9 am tomorrow morning.
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captaincrunch added 19:36 - Jan 30 rogie they already play in blue shirts so that would not be difficult!
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captaincrunch added 19:38 - Jan 30 fourth, while portsmouth may have to sell, we can't really be cheeky and offer 1m when there are other clubs who would like to do the same deal. I think I speak for most people when I say just pay what they are worth and get them in before someone else does.
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StuartBrett8 added 19:40 - Jan 30 Just send a coach down to portsmouth... 'any players want a secure contract, hop on board' :)
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TrueBlueFerret added 19:40 - Jan 30 We need 2 Hammer a deal out soon b4 it's 2 late.....Pay Up Pompey!!!!!!
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rosseden added 19:45 - Jan 30 BREAKING NEWS, Banks accounts have been frozen at Portsmouth. That means no deals can be made'' exactly right Fourth...... its now in the hands of the admin boys!
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captaincrunch added 19:49 - Jan 30 lets not get carried away, the portsmouth club statement reads as follows... "The club is now seeking a validation order from the court in order to have its bank accounts unfrozen so that staff wages and suppliers can be paid." "This is expected to take a few days and once obtained this will allow our bank accounts to be reactivated." Obviously this might just be what you would expect to hear and they will say anything to make things seem better but if its true then it won't make much of a difference. The uncertainty might be enough to swing things in our favour though. COYB

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RedDust added 19:51 - Jan 30 @ Rogie dog.... what if portsmouth are playing away?!
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alfromcol added 19:59 - Jan 30 See http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16797287.stm for details
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Sparky85 added 19:59 - Jan 30 I see Matt Tubbs has signed for Bournemouth and Billy Sharp has agreed a deal with Southampton. Not that we are in for them anymore but seems annoying that other teams can get deals done
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Talbs77 added 20:01 - Jan 30 Sorry but unless my eyes are playing tricks on me aren't portsmouth around mid table? Their not blo*dy Barcelona!! As for being all smug with Norris not getting paid, it was the club that droped a b*llock by letting him go for free. And Mcauley....the list goes on! So lets all keep our feet on the ground before we all think were going to suddenly become Man City. We have to get out of the mess we are currently in and focus on that otherwise theres a strong possibility we will go down, make no mistake.

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alfromcol added 20:06 - Jan 30 Talbs77 There is a school of thought that suggests that Norris knew he could go to Portsmouth and pick up a signing on fee and therefore sat out his contract.
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rogie_dog added 20:07 - Jan 30 Captaincrunch, reddust.... I've just bought my Portsmouth away ticket :)
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alfromcol added 20:09 - Jan 30 Good that Sharp has left Doncaster, makes it more likely that Doncaster will be one of the relegated clubs. Maybe Portsmouth will be the second candidate if they don't get their act together and therefore have points deduced. We need all the help we can get.
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Talbs77 added 20:13 - Jan 30 alfromcol I know what your saying but if he is the only footballer who does that then I'm not a wookie. He was the Club Captain, scored goals from midfield and stated that the club made no attempt to talk to him before it was too late. If I was in his shoes I would have done the same as effectively he was out of a job by the summer. Look at how many goals we have scored from midfield?

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RetroBlue added 20:29 - Jan 30 I think we can safely say IfC have cocked up again in the window by putting all our eggs in one basket with these Pompey players. They are quite cannily running down the clock and by tomorrow we will be left with no defensive signings and pompey having succesfully having held onto their players!
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RetroBlue added 20:31 - Jan 30 I think we can safely say IfC have cocked up again in the window by putting all our eggs in one basket with these Pompey players. They are quite cannily running down the clock and by tomorrow we will be left with no defensive signings and pompey having succesfully having held onto their players!
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harlingblue added 20:32 - Jan 30 We want, We want etc...but...what is going through these Portsmouth players minds? Our (firm/club) is going bust, I'm not going to be paid this month, what do I do, where should I be employed, do I want to relocate, will it effect my family? Ipswich Town as a Club is in need of you, have been very good in the distant past, still living off past glories, but have the fabric of being a very good Club in the future...we need your help as much as we need you. Come and join and let's all hope for a more successful and stable future!

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