Colchester United manager Steve Whitton says he would be interested in Town defender Mark Venus if he becomes available over the summer. Whitton, a former Town player himself, knows Venus well and says he has been present at a number of recent Layer Road games.

The Colchester boss sees Venus as fitting neatly into his squad: "Mark would be the perfect player to replace Simon Clark, who left us so suddenly earlier in the year.

"A lot depends of course on whether Ipswich stay up in the Premiership or not.

"But a natural left-sided player such as Mark would give my squad the balance it has been lacking since Simon left.

"Mark lives near Colchester. I know him well, he's a frequent spectator at our games and he's the type of player we could afford.

"Sadly for us, I believe he could be in the running for an extra year's contract to stay at Portman Road.

"Whether it turns out to be Venus or not, a player of his qualities will be my prime target in the summer."

A new one-year contract at Portman Road does look on the cards, especially if Town are playing First Division football next season.

If Venus does make a move to Layer Road he'll be treading a well-worn path. As well as Whitton himself and coach Geraint Williams, a vast number of former Town players have played at Colchester over the years including Micky Stockwell, Jason Dozzell, David and Neil Gregory, Gavin Johnson and Roger Osborne.

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