Blues youngster George Fowler could complete his permanent switch to loan club Aldershot on what’s currently not expected to be a busy final day of the transfer window at Portman Road.

On Friday, Town boss Mick McCarthy confirmed that defender Fowler, 20, is set to follow Adam McDonnell in making his move to the Shots a permanent one and Gary Waddock, his counterpart with the Vanarama National League side, says the clubs and the player are discussing the details relating to the deal.

“We haven’t signed him yet but he’s a good player,” Waddock told Get Surrey. “We are talking to them at the moment. I’d like to get it done soon if we can get it over the line but sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t. We are talking at the moment.

“George is a lovely lad and came to us difficult circumstances with Callum [Reynolds] out the team and he settled in and formed a really good relationship with Will [Evans].”

Regarding last week’s permanent signing of McDonnell, Waddock added: “He’s been here before on loan and done very well.

“Adam had a very good relationship with the players and the supporters, and I think sometimes when players have a taste of a club they want to come back and we were lucky to get him back because he’s a good player.

“He knows the club and knows the players and I think when he went back to Ipswich he missed them as well. He is still developing as a player so there’s no reason why he can’t eventually go back up the leagues to where he’s come from.

“We signed him on a free and it gives us more competition in that midfield area. We have some good players in there anyway. He brings something different and he’s left-footed as well, so that gives us some balance in there.”

Waddock, who was at Playford Road to watch the U23s beat QPR 3-0 earlier this month, and McCarthy are close friends having played together for the Republic of Ireland and Millwall and the EBB Stadium has become a regular loan destination for Town youngsters over the last couple of seasons.

Kundai Benyu spent most of 2016/17 with the Hampshire club and James Blanchfield also moved there briefly after McDonnell was recalled from his loan spell at the end of last year before recently returning to the Blues with an ankle injury.

“Ipswich have been good to us. Mick McCarthy has been fantastic, I’ve known him for years and we have a good relationship,” added Waddock, who says he had no problem with McCarthy revealing the Fowler move.

“We have to thank Mick for allowing us to sign a player of that quality [McDonnell]. I’ve heard he gives a little bit about us away but it keeps everyone happy, so why not?”

McCarthy said he was allowing Fowler to move on as the former Debenham High School pupil has other young players ahead of him in the pecking order, Luke Woolfenden, who is currently on loan at Bromley, and Chris Smith, who is spending the rest of the season back at Chelmsford City.

“He is [joining Aldershot], that’s the plan,” McCarthy said on Friday. “They want to take him and equally he’s not going to get in the first team here.

"And so rather than being in a scrum with Adam and another 1,000 players in the summer, I think it’s great that Gary Waddock likes them.

"They’re playing, they can improve and we will have a sell-on clause so if they do sell them we would be reimbursed, I guess, for their development.”

Elsewhere ahead of tonight’s 11pm deadline, Town are expected to complete the signing of 19-year-old right-back or midfielder Barry Cotter from League of Ireland Limerick, as revealed by TWTD on Friday, while Kai Brown, 16, is set to join the academy as a scholar from Grays Athletic.

Town boss McCarthy said last week he wasn’t anticipating adding any nore senior players to his squad, but that could change, particularly if anyone firms up their interest in striker David McGoldrick.

The 30-year-old Republic of Ireland international is out of contract at the end of the season and we understand the Blues are willing to allow him to move on should they receive an acceptable offer.

Cardiff City - who are reported to be closing in on the £6 million signing of Bolton frontman Gary Madine - have been linked for most of the transfer window, while Birmingham, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday have also been mentioned in connection with the former Southampton and Nottingham Forest man.

Yesterday, Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce said he isn’t looking to sign McGoldrick during this window.

Photo: Action Images

jayessess added 09:28 - Jan 31 "Ipswich have been good to us". For some bizarre reason our academy exists to develop players for Aldershot.
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Steve_M added 09:30 - Jan 31 £6m for Gary Madine?? I know Warnock loves buying strikers but really?
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runningout added 09:31 - Jan 31 Good luck George Fowler, hope he thrives
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BlueBlood90 added 09:35 - Jan 31 Rather than putting a sell on clause in, I'd rather have a buy back option for whatever we sell them for. That way if they develop into good players then we have the first option and get them back.
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Guthrum added 09:42 - Jan 31 No club is going to agree to that, BlueBlood! Develop a player and get no profit if he turns out to be good. Effectively, that's just a loan anyway.
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jayessess added 09:54 - Jan 31 @Guthrum: You've basically just described our academy. (As an aside, buy back options aren't that uncommon, although less so in England. The motivation for Shots would be (a) they're getting a player for no/minimal fee - which we're not obliged to do! (b) the buy back clause has a price tag on it so they make some cash)
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howdonblue added 10:07 - Jan 31 Good luck young man. Quiet day expected YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAWWWWWNNNNNNNN Story of our life
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jpring89 added 10:11 - Jan 31 Crap deadline day again. We have to be the dullest club in the football league now. Bored.
5

unknown100 added 10:21 - Jan 31 Taught him as a kid, he was amazing, really would have loved to have seen him do well at town but good luck to him at aldershot
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arc added 10:30 - Jan 31 Does anyone know how Benyu is doing at Celtic?
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liam88 added 10:36 - Jan 31 Benyu on loan at Oldham
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Rensham added 10:37 - Jan 31 Are we packing in the U-23 team?
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:56 - Jan 31 While I accept the manager knows and works with these players on a daily basis, something seems wrong. Why do so many of our promising youngsters not make it? We take in other promising youngsters on a punt to see whether they might turn into something (not against that), but couldn't we wait a little longer to give our own youngsters the same chance? I give you Marriot for one.

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tractorboybig added 10:58 - Jan 31 Do we really need this academy? Seems a pointless exercise for some while now.
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Pilgrimblue added 11:32 - Jan 31 I don't get it at all! Firstly we sign (according to Mick!) top prospects. Then after a while in U18 and U23 they get loaned out never to be seen again. But despite injuries/poor results they may just get on the bench but aren't used as Mick prefers to play his favs out of position i.e. Sears McGoldrick. How many of our Academy make it into the first team? And why with Mick impressive track record (yea right!!) do we get such a poor return. Other clubs must love us for looking after them so well. I think that some that are loaned become demotivated having thought they were going to make it with Town. It's therefore no surprise that they drop a level or two and never return. I didn't agree with Moore sale as he should have been given a chance and then maybe sold in summer as perhaps he could have worked with Garner. Nor do I like Rowe going to Lincoln as we need a wide mid rather than see Sears played out of position!

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jayessess added 12:43 - Jan 31 To be fair, most clubs release the vast majority of their academy grads, not just us. That said the loan moves to non-league clubs feel like a total waste of our time. I can't think of a single one who did one, came back and then played in the first team. (Just checked and with Tommy Smith leaving, there's now not a single first team academy product who was ever loaned out for experience)

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yorkshire added 12:53 - Jan 31 The loans to non-league happen more now due to the new rules that league clubs can't buy/loan a player outside of window - so Conference is the highest that they can go I really do wonder why people have to find the negative all the time - this article clearly states why Fowler is moving on - 1) there are better players (Woolfy and Smith) ahead of him in the youth ranks 2) Aldershot want him and this is a great opportunity for the lad to get a club before the scrum at the end of the season 3) we have put in a sell on clause - so instead of getting nothing if we release him and he goes elsewhere, now if Aldershot do get some cash for him then so will we

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jayessess added 13:18 - Jan 31 Yes, and loaning players to non-league sides outside of window has produced zero players and zero fees. So maybe don't bother?
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yorkshire added 13:34 - Jan 31 "Yes, and loaning players to non-league sides outside of window has produced zero players and zero fees. So maybe don't bother? " Yes - why bother with anything - lets just sit back and wait for the world to end. What a stupid comment
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jayessess added 14:30 - Jan 31 Those are of course the two options - loan Chris Smith to play for a team mid-table in Step 6 or embrace the sweet release of death.
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Seasider added 18:10 - Jan 31 Good luck to the lad. Re Madine switch to Cardiff.Thought he played very well for Bolton against us. We could do with a big target man to get on the end of the crosses which Waghorn and Gardner are too small to reach,evidence the Wolves game. However such is the state that Evans has reduced Ipswich to that we seem incapable of buying any player that cost more than a few quid. Just think Evans has forked out less than £4 1/2 m in transfer fees over the last 5 years despite receiving nearly £20m;and Cardiff are about to spend £6m for one player. It was a sad day when Sheepshanks persuaded the shareholders to let this glorified ticket tout buy the club just over 10 years ago;as the spending on players has returned to the sums of 20 years ago.

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