Blues boss Paul Jewell has revealed that contract talks have begun with midfielder Lee Martin. The former Manchester United man’s current terms are up at the end of next season.

Jewell said: “The owner has spoken with his agent and we’re trying to tie Lee down to a new deal. We hope that can be sorted in the near future.

“But if it’s not sorted in the near future, we can’t afford to let players run out of contract. But we want to keep Lee Martin.”

Martin isn’t the only player whose deal is up next summer but Jewell says he’s the only one who has been spoken to so far: “Lee is at that age, he’s 25, and we want to sign him. We don’t want to let players that we want to keep let their contracts run out.”

In addition to Martin, Jack Ainsley, Jimmy Bullard, Damien Delaney, Andy Drury, Nathan Ellington, Arran Lee-Barrett, Jaime Peters, Ryan Stevenson, Joe Whight and Cormac Burke all have deals which are up at the end of June 2013, while skipper Carlos Edwards, Jason Scotland, Ronan Murray and Luke Hyam have all signed new one-year contracts within the last few months.

Speaking in April, Martin, who is currently sidelined with a minor thigh problem, said he was keen to get his contract situation “sorted nice and early”.

Photo: Action Images

Len_Brennan added 06:45 - Aug 1 Agreeing a new contract with Martin, after his performances in the 2nd half of last season & due to his age, is just as important as signing that new striker or defender. Since January he started to look like a player worth something llike £1m+ for the first time since he arrived & therefore an asset of the club we can't afford to let go for nothing.
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townietilidie added 07:20 - Aug 1 Agree Len_Brennan but dont be suprised if negotiations fail and the deal is not done . We dont have a good history of completing deals at Portman Road these days ....
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itfcjay added 07:24 - Aug 1 Wages will balls this one up I'm sure !!
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BigAlsMate added 07:29 - Aug 1 Looking like another mass exodus of players with no fees coming in to us again next summer then! And frankly, with the ambition shown by the management team shown so far this summer, who can blame Martin for hedging his bets and waiting to see how things go before commiting his future to the club?
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Mark added 07:59 - Aug 1 Good, but a bit late as we know these negotiations take weeks and if we can't agree a deal we will need to transfer list him, wait for a club to submit an acceptable bid, and wait for Martin to agree terms with them. His value will be dropping day-by-day in August, so I would have hoped that we could have decided one way or the other by now. Of course, I hope he signs.
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irishtim added 08:21 - Aug 1 Sign now please. We need to keep our better players.
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Karlosfandangal added 08:29 - Aug 1 Bet we are still trying to sort it out by Christmas and by then we will be about 15th in the table, so he will see who is intrested in the Jan transfer window and leave for free in the summer (ie Leadbitter all over again)
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RegencyBlue added 08:42 - Aug 1 Assuming we follow our usual way of operating these days and offer a contract with reduced wages Martin will walk for nothing!
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bigolconnor added 08:46 - Aug 1 One of our best players. We need to consistently play him, JET and chops together for attacking glory.
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brian_a_mul added 09:09 - Aug 1 Jack Ainsley, Jimmy Bullard, Damien Delaney, Andy Drury, Nathan Ellington, Arran Lee-Barrett, Jaime Peters, Ryan Stevenson, Joe Whight and Cormac Burke Whight + Burke have good playing and transfer potential, I expect contracts to be sorted out soon for these lads. If Drury does well again he could also be offered a deal very soon. I think the first few months of the season will determine if the rest players will be offered new contracts. Obvious Peters wont get a deal. Bullard will really need to step it up if he has any hopes of a new contract.

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legoman added 09:55 - Aug 1 WILD BOYS ALWAYS SHIIIIIIINE. He is one of the "pack" who saved us last season. Sign him up.
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ITFCforlife added 10:10 - Aug 1 Martin, Jack Ainsley, Jimmy Bullard, Damien Delaney, Andy Drury, Nathan Ellington, Arran Lee-Barrett, Jaime Peters, Ryan Stevenson, Joe Whight and Cormac Burke all out of contract next season. I would offer contracts to Martin, Drury, maybe Ainsley and because of what I saw also Jimmy and Stevenson. Whight and Burke havent had their chance so none of us could chose
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havinit69 added 10:36 - Aug 1 Brace yourself now for the "with the fair play rules kicking in, we just can't afford what Lee is asking for" excuses !
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scotty2hottyITFC added 10:36 - Aug 1 I think getting Martin on a good contract is our top priority at the moment. PJ needs to start clearing out the players sitting there doing nothing! Nathan Ellington scored 1 goal in 4 years playing for Watford - why we even signed him in the first place is beyond me! Bullard did bugger all last season really and I don't think he has any intention of doing anything this time either. He just wants 2-3 years of high wages before he retires. Damo, though unreliable at times, is good along side someone like Smith. Also get Drury, Stevenson, Whight? new contracts. COYB!

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Garv added 10:41 - Aug 1 Unless we're going to get a decenct fee for him (£1m+), I wouldn't bother selling him in this window (if he doesn't sign). I cannot see us getting that much for him. To be honest I'd rather get another full season out of Lee Martin than £500k in the Marcus Evans piggy bank. Leadbitter was different because he had been poor for two years prior to him turning down our offer last summer. We should have sold him there and then. Martin is one of, if not the most important player in our squad. He'd be a lot more difficult to replace than Leadbitter would have been. Let's just hope he signs up for another 2/3 years.

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Warkys_Tash added 10:44 - Aug 1 Got to re-sign this guy if we want to go anywhere - he is the heartbeat of the team for sure. Outstanding most of last season.
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arc added 12:43 - Aug 1 The trouble is going to be that, like Leadbitter, Martin was overpaid by Keane, so working out a new contract is going to be hard. He still has a lot to prove for me–consistency, especially.
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buryblue77 added 16:38 - Aug 1 Agree with Garv, if he's not going to sing then I'd rather keep him than sell him, as it seems that transfer fees don't seem to be working their way back to PJ for spending we may as well get another season from him.
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