Town are reported to have had a bid of £2 million for striker Jordan Hudgill turned down by Saturday’s opponents Preston North End.

The Blues are understood to have made an unsuccessful £1.5 million offer for the 24-year-old earlier in the window and according to various reports have now returned with a further bid.

Quizzed on what he likes about Hugill at his press conference earlier this afternoon boss Mick McCarthy said: “Everything he does. He's a real competitor, he works hard, he’s quick. He never gives centre-halves a minute’s peace. We’ll be seeing that on Saturday, no doubt.

“And he’s only going to get better. He added his couple of goals [in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa] at the weekend. He’s somebody who has come into it a little bit later than others, certainly to professional football, and he’d be one I like.”

McCarthy confirmed that he has multiple seven-figure bids in at the present time but wouldn’t comment on whether an offer for Hugill was among them.

“I won’t talk about him other than that, as I say, I like him, he’s a good player,” he added.

Hugill is a doubt ahead of Saturday’s game having missed training this week after suffering a knee injury and being replaced 12 minutes from the end of the Villa game, which he left on crutches.

The Lilywhites hope to have him back in training on Friday and available for Saturday’s match.

Photo: Action Images

TCisdynamite added 16:45 - Jan 26 hugilly disappointing
6

12th_Man added 16:50 - Jan 26 Well go a day make a 3rd offer then 2.5m should do it
2

Michael11 added 16:53 - Jan 26 Strange one. Never heard McCarthy talk about someone else's player like that before. He wants to be careful how much he raves about him in public as they'll think we're desperate for him and increase his value. It's nice to see that we're actually putting proper offers in though. Keep it up.
5

12th_Man added 16:53 - Jan 26 Well go again and make a 3rd offer then 2.5m should do it
3

WadeyBlue added 16:54 - Jan 26 They'll accept a better offer after Saturday I should think.
1

hoppy added 16:56 - Jan 26 Let's go back in and sort it with an increased bid then. The way MM talks about him seems to tick all the boxes, so go get him and then we can move onto the other areas we still need to strengthen before the window slams shut for the season.
4

strikalite added 16:58 - Jan 26 How long does it take to thrash out a deal? A hour? A day? Surely the Club knows a figure or he isn't for sale and we move on, why is it so drawn out?? Is it only us who takes weeks and weeks and still no closer? Newcastle wanted Murphy and the deal was done in days...
0

RYITFC added 17:14 - Jan 26 I think the timing of the second bid isn't ideal, right before we play them, Of course they'll reject as it would give us a psychological edge even if we agreed not to play him. Now if we go back for him it'll have to be at least £2.5 Million. It may seem a lot of money but 2.5-3 Million isn't a lot of money for a championship striker, if we think he's the right one, go & get him, don't settle for the cheaper option.

2

Mark added 17:16 - Jan 26 It shows how a player's value can sky rocket. He scored 4 goals for Port Vale then moved to Preston, and after 10 goals for Preston he is now apparently worth £2M. He's having a good season and may well be worth that, but again shows the value in buying the right young players.
4

nysully added 17:23 - Jan 26 Wait till you see how good Daryl Horgan is this Saturday for Preston, this is the one that got away unless he simply refused to sign for us, Preston has many Irish players and he may simply be more comfortable there.......
3

RRanger added 17:39 - Jan 26 "Newcastle wanted Murphy and the deal was done in days.." (strikalite). Murphy wanted to go and Newcastle bid 3.4 mil. for a 34 year old. Hugill is a lot younger and how do we know he wants to leave Preston. Its not the same at all.
2

BtreeBlueBlood added 17:43 - Jan 26 Put a bid in an hr b4 the game!
3

Seasider added 17:55 - Jan 26 From what Mick has said,certainly seem more determined this Jan than last. Lets hope all this effort bears fruit,otherwise its the same old same old story as previous windows.
3

Jimmy86 added 17:56 - Jan 26 The crazy thing, is Nugent went to Derby for 2 million, but of course there would probably be add on's and wages would be a problem too, but my question is, is Hugill really worth 2 million or more??
0

dirtyboy added 18:00 - Jan 26 It's a lot of money if the owner can't afford it.
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BlueandTruesince82 added 18:01 - Jan 26 At 2 million I'd much rather see us invest in proved quality at this level in Nugent or the promise that Ward represents. That said I know nothing about Hugil so who knows. The main thing we should take from this is that the club (and ME) is actually trying to spend at least 2 million quid! That's good right (if not frittered away)
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Surco72 added 18:14 - Jan 26 Does anyone know what has happened between MM and Best ? Or is the club just ignoring the fact we are paying yet another wage for the rest of season for someone who won't play ? How many times do we do this Tabb, Stewart , Varney , Coke ?
0

westernblue added 18:29 - Jan 26 This guy Hugill seems to have impressed - and surprised - a lot of PNE fans this season. But they are lucky to also have other options than playing up to a big striker (shades of Daryl Murphy). They have a good footballing midfield - players like McGeady (on loan), Pearson, Browne, and Daniel Johnson - with new boy Daryl Horgan (whom Town tried to get in a short while back) starting too to impress. I think that Hugill has real promise - and as others have said, strikers don't come cheap at this level. But just as importantly, Town cannot get out of the present spiral of decline as a footballing side without finding players to bolster the craft and invention in midfield.

1

Crawfordsboot added 18:40 - Jan 26 Strikealight "how long does it take to sign a striker". Rather like buying a house. Make an offer, perhaps get gazumped, then even if the seller agrees a price you are still in a chain so unless a player has stated a wish to depart(a la Murph) then the selling club wants to line up a replacement. It is not like nipping out to Tescos for a case of beer!
0

mattwin added 19:01 - Jan 26 Does anyone know what happen to Leon Best there is a small bit on the BBC website that McCarthy has come out and said he won't play for Ipswich again ?? Is this official does anyone know ??
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blueblood_soldier added 19:30 - Jan 26 Mick has said he done all the right things when he was on trial and hasn't seen it since..so not in his plans. Think he has a groin injury as well so not even gonna be able to release him in the window...
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battyblue added 19:33 - Jan 26 How many goals and assists did Best achieve for us then Mick? Hugill looks like he would tick most boxes.
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HALLSJ added 19:47 - Jan 26 Get this sorted
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BlueArrow added 19:58 - Jan 26 FFS if he's that good like the Nike advert. just Do It. If not move on
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kingy4978 added 20:23 - Jan 26 Wow. So many now saying get the deal done for him yet a week or two ago when the story first Come out people were saying why waste 1 million plus on him. Smacks of desperation from some fans to see us spend money.
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