Town boss Mick McCarthy says striker Kieffer Moore’s future will be decided over the next few days but confirmed that the 25-year-old will be leaving Portman Road with his head “elsewhere”.

Earlier today, Barnsley were reported to have agreed a fee of £750,000 for the 6ft 5in tall frontman, who was recently recalled from his highly successful loan spell at Rotherham, with claims he had already undergone a medical, although that appears to be jumping the gun slightly even if Oakwell appears certain to be his destination.

“It’ll be decided over the next few days,” McCarthy said. “He’s cup-tied anyway so he’s not involved with us.

“He trained with us yesterday and his head’s not really here, that’s for certain. He was hardly well-liked or loved here, I remember the crowd cheering when he headed a ball at one stage when he was here.

“But he’s gone and improved, he had a great time at Rotherham, he’s much more loved and revered and thought more of up there, that’s for sure.

“And I could tell yesterday when he trained, there’s a lot of interest in him and I think his head is elsewhere and I think he will probably end up elsewhere.”

Asked whether the club has accepted any bids, McCarthy added: “I’m not sure. There’s a lot of people interested.”

Is he surprised that the interest from various clubs has been so public with the Millers, Peterborough and Bradford confirming their interest and Charlton, Wigan and Scunthorpe also understood to be among the suitors.

“Not really. You know how much that bothers me,” the Blues boss added. “This is my bothered face. In a day when we have all the social media that goes on, never mind people talking, people sending messages all around the world, it’s very hard to keep anything quiet.

“Why would it be kept quiet, the end result of all this is that he either stayed at Rotherham, he came back and played with us and if he came back and played with us in one game, he couldn’t go anywhere else then, couldn’t be loaned out because of the two-club rule.

“We bring him back and he’s not playing in front of Garns and Waggy, that’s for sure. He doesn’t want to come back and be on the bench. He’s just had a great time, has scored 13 goals in League One. Kieffer’s head is elsewhere and I’m cool with that.”

Has he thought about keeping him for the longer term? “We’ve got an option on him and we could keep him, but not really, not when I think he’s ready to leave. He wants to leave.

“I can’t bring him back and give him reassurance, ‘By the way, I’ll put you in the team’. Really? No Garns, no Waggy, put Kieffer in the team? I don’t see that happening to be quite honest with you.”

Photo: TWTD

hampstead_blue added 14:16 - Jan 5 MM sounds proper hacked-off. Rightly so. He gave him a chance when everyone else had passed him by. I do like the little side swipe that he wasn't liked here and got a cheer just for letting the ball hit his head! Reading between the lines, he's saying that KM could be a bit of a big time Charlie. Certainly has had plenty of hot air blown up his backside. Let him go if he thinks he is better. Not the kind of personality you'd want.

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Swailsey added 14:17 - Jan 5 I sense bitterness from MM here. Odd.
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Radlett_blue added 14:21 - Jan 5 Beyond parody, Mick. "His head's been turned. So, reluctantly I have to let go the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whom I discovered & whom the muppets of Town fans all thought was pish".
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Europablue added 14:23 - Jan 5 It's a tough situation, really. I can't blame Mick for not putting him straight in the team, and it makes no business sense to play him as a sub and limit the selling options. It's understandable that he wants to go out and play. Selling him seems like the best decision for all parties even if I would have liked to see if he can handle Championship level.
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Len_Brennan added 14:23 - Jan 5 He twice mentioned "Garns & Waggy" getting in the team ahead of him if Kieffer came back to play here, but no mention of Didzy. Looks like it will two forwards moving out during this window. Hopefully it won't just be the unproven lad from Waterford coming in to replace them.
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Smithy added 14:29 - Jan 5 So he's leaving because he's not really liked here, so when are you going then Mick????
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mickeyjb added 14:29 - Jan 5 More money, longer contract, playing regularly for a a team whose fans will love you, hmmmmmm I wonder why his head is not in it here. No need for digs from anyone. MM has been lucky that he has performed so well during his loan, how much would he have been worth if he had stayed here and then been released? Take the money, wish him well and move on and re-invest the profit!!! Well we can wish

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blueboy1981 added 14:32 - Jan 5 ....... another player who has sussed the Dinosaur out - what decent player would be content with HOOFBALL ? That's why we haven't got too many of them - and therefore what, and where, we are. Hit the down button 'happy clappies' - and look forward to making excuses and condoning the next defeat.
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OohOohSamassiAbou added 14:33 - Jan 5 I still don't quite understand the willingness to sell so early in the transfer window. Wouldn't it have been better for him to stay at Rotherham for part of the month, maybe score a couple more, while we negotiated and as teams get more desperate for a front man later in the window then the price goes up. It just feels like we can't wait to get rid of him, even if we leave some cash on the table.

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blueboy1981 added 14:34 - Jan 5 ....... Good Luck Kieffer - you've proved where the back of the net is this season, to all and sundry - job done for Rotherham ..... !!!
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RobbieBobson added 14:35 - Jan 5 If we get 750k on a player that cost 10-20k a year ago, I think we should consider that as good business. However, didn't we also return a certain Chris Wood who then went on to be transferred to Burnley for 15m quid? I trust Mick on this one, afterall, for once, we seem to have an abundance of attacking talent at the moment, with the likes of Folami, Morris and Patterson coming through the U23's

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timkatieadamitfc added 14:40 - Jan 5 @hampsteadblue- MM hasn't really given him a chance has he, you can count the minutes hes played on 2 hands virtually. @europablue we will definitely see if he can handle it in the championship because he WILL play regularly at Barnsley and they will play to his strengths(if he had stayed and got regular game time with us MM would probably play him wide and ruin him ala sears. @smithy - spot on @mickyjb - spotter on Very disillusioned with this window already and its not long started and will only get worse.

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blueboy1981 added 14:41 - Jan 5 ...... devious McCarthy - reading between the lines, he's having a pop at the fans for 'not liking him' - rather than admitting he has possibly ----ed up once again. Kieffer - you obviously didn't fit the 'proper bloke' criteria - but you aren't the first to do that, so don't let it worry you. Just move on - and leave the Dino behind, just like he has been doing for seasons. Far too many of them at Portman Road.

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rugbytomc added 14:44 - Jan 5 if i was a potential buyer, Mick just lowered the asking price. Because so many teams are interested though i don't think it will, luckily. We have better players, the fee being mentioned is exceptional for how much we bought him for and we owe Rotherham for all of it because without that loan, he wouldn't have attracted any more than we paid for him. Good luck to him. Up the town though

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Facefacts added 14:57 - Jan 5 It's been a huge piece of luck that Kieffer Moore has done well on loan and got teams wanting to take him. There won't be any transfer funds made available - except for possible loans/wages, assuming Didz (apart from the Loovens assault on him he's stayed injury free this time) and even Bart are sold. The difference between this season and last is that we started the season well, yes we always get found out by the larger / expensive teams less affected by injuries by this stage - winter/Jan/Feb, but there is interest in our players. That is actually a good thing. It's always interesting to try to read between the lines. It seems Mick thinks he is not going to be offered a contract extension, this may be where the bitterness comes in, it's a knock to his ego. He can't believe anyone would be able to do a better job given the restrictions he is working under. But that is Mick, he is good with no funds for actual transfer fees, ok boring to watch but gets enough results to keep head above water. The manager Marcus has got lined up to take over, who is it going to be - if he is going to be better with only loans/wages than Mick.

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Bluetone added 15:06 - Jan 5 "He was hardly well-liked or loved here, I remember the crowd cheering when he headed a ball at one stage when he was here." If being liked is your criteria why are you still here McCarthy.
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flimflam added 15:09 - Jan 5 A friend in the club said when he first signed he thought he come across as a bit of a big time charlie so take the money, great bit of business.
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strikalite added 15:16 - Jan 5 Why on earth would he want to come back here and sit on the bench and even then probably not given even 10 minutes, I watched him at London Road, scored with a nice header, didn't have a great game if I'm honest, but boy you could tell their fans loved him by how they sang his name, that my friends must make you feel bloody good....he'll get good money elsewhere too, agent is happy, I really don't blame him, it's so downbeat here at the moment sadly too, he'll know that..

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Swn98 added 15:17 - Jan 5 Good luck kieffer could you take your new found buddy Bluebore with you if there's room you can have Warkthline and dirty dingum as well.
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ArnieM added 15:23 - Jan 5 Of course KM doesn't want to stay at ITFC....he can see the competition to get in the team. He's not daft...and if it were me Id be the same. He was the dogs bollox ( Big Fish : little pond) at Rotherham. Naturally he'd want to stay. So good Luck KM.... Evans must simply love McCarthy....how much money has he made the owner with his wheeling / dealing ?...naturally little income will go back into the squad.

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FifeITFC added 15:31 - Jan 5 I'm not sure I'm keen on MM using the fans as a reason to justify him going (even though I think it's the right move). In that case, I hope ME uses the same methodology when he (ha ha) sacks MM.
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Theipswich added 16:01 - Jan 5 McCarthy shouldn't have bought him in the first place.Another of his transfer master strokes...lol
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Carberry added 16:13 - Jan 5 I fail to see how a bloke bought for 10k could possibly become a big time Charlie. The dressing room would have sorted that. This is MM protecting himself and the owner cashing in, pure and simple. And not very clever for a man that believes he is one of the decent blokes. It is not unknown for some lower league managers to have a deal where they get a percentage of transfers out (to encourage them to sell), does this apply to McCarthy?

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tractorboybig added 16:17 - Jan 5 never given the chance, good luck to him he is going to a better place,
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Taricco_Fan added 16:35 - Jan 5 Pretty damning stuff from McCarthy. Not sure where he got the impression that Moore wasn't well liked here, if he means not liked by the fans, that is. He made a huge step up to Championship level and hardly featured for us last season. Many fans feel Moore isn't Championship quality but that doesn't mean we don't like him. An odd thing for McCarthy to say. Unless, that is, Moore didn't fit in with the rest of the squad. Perhaps he failed Mick's 'fit and proper' bloke test.

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