QPR boss Mark Warburton's pursuit of Blues midfielder Alan Judge looks to be at an end.

Warburton added free agent former AFC Bournemouth man Marc Pugh to his squad earlier today and has said that that signing was a result of the Blues rebuffing bids - of £250,000 and £450,000 - for Judge.

"Yeah, it probably is,” Warburton told West London Sport, before adding that he believes the Dubliner will be staying at Portman Road and that the proposed deal is no longer on the table.

Judge had told manager Paul Lambert that he would be interested in the move back to the Championship but, as TWTD reported on Friday, Town owner Marcus Evans is determined to keep hold of the Republic of Ireland international, who only signed a new two-year contract in April.

The 30-year-old, who previously played for Warburton at Brentford, made his first appearance of pre-season as a half-time sub in today’s 0-0 friendly draw at Cambridge United having broken his wrist while on international duty with Ireland last month.

Photo: TWTD

BLUEBEAT added 23:20 - Jul 27 :)
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StringerBell added 23:21 - Jul 27 Cracking news, AJ could be key for us and we need all available quality resource at our disposal. Oh, and sod off Warburton.
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ScottCandage added 23:38 - Jul 27 I respect Alan Judge, and I can see why he might want to move on. But we can't just let us be used by players. He signed a contract with us. We have to demand at least a little of the fruits of that contract.
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KiwiBlue2 added 00:45 - Jul 28 This is good news. I suspect that the lure of QPR was Warburton who AJ obviously rates however with Pugh being signed hopefully the matter is at an end and AJ can now focus on his performances for us. At least Evans showed some sense in this matter by not accepting offers that were totally inadequate for once.
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AK74 added 01:32 - Jul 28 Sounds promising. However I'll still be holding my breath until the Championship transfer window shuts on 8th August. Don't think Lambert would have made public Judge's desire for the opportunity unless he thought the transfer was imminent but plenty of players have expressed a desire to leave but then performed well and been adored by the fans when the move has fallen through. De Gea to Real Madrid a few years ago is one that springs to mind. Judge's performance in 45 mins today with no pre season shows how crucial he will be to our promotion ambitions & I think whilst he may be disappointed not to get the opportunity (that could not be foreseen when he signed his contract in April) to work with a manager he is familiar with at a higher level, I get the feeling that he will put it behind him and be a key player in our promotion push. If we can keep him & he stays fit I guarantee he will make the league 1 team of the season. Let's hope that for once Evans looks at the bigger picture and stays strong.

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Cakeman added 01:59 - Jul 28 Not overly fussed with Judge staying. Good player that he is, it should be remembered that by all accounts he wanted to leave us. That won't be forgotten by me. Equally I will always support him whilst he is wearing our Blue.
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Dissboyitfc added 06:50 - Jul 28 Glad about this, i think! Anyway we shall see how it effects him. I would hope that he will be totally professional and still give us 100%. I do however find it really strange that PL mentioned he would like the move, Lambert is normally quite Guarded and diplomatic in his answers, mentioning the fact he wants the opportunity wasnt a smart move! For the very reason it could fall through. Which of course appears to be the case. Judge has dodged a bullet here, because Warburton could well be gone by Xmas!

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Len_Brennan added 07:08 - Jul 28 This is good news & a bit of a surprise, as I thought he would definitely be off given Lambert's comments. The fact that QPR would not go beyond £450k (perhaps they just can't) should help Judge to come to terms with the club rejecting the approach. A 30 year old iinternational quality player should not be moving for less than 7 figures in today's crazy market. I like the idea of us playing Judge at the front of a midfield diamond, & now with Huws looking like he has a serious chance of playing a big part in our season, we are looking at the possibility of a having serious artillery in the centre, in terms of winning possession, keeping possession & delivering defence splitting passes into our forwards.

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ShropshireBluenago09 added 07:53 - Jul 28 How much was Pugh? I'd expect similar cost @ £1million? Odd, but glad Alan Judge is a blue!
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Azzuromark added 08:01 - Jul 28 Shropshirebluenago he didn't cost anything, as the report states ..... "Warburton added free agent former AFC Bournemouth man Marc Pugh to his squad earlier today ".
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terry_butchers_twin added 08:13 - Jul 28 Think Warburton will be firefighting at QPR. Having just signed Pugh he now needs his brother plus Barney Magrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb......
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JCBLUE added 08:18 - Jul 28 Excellent news, time to move on and secure promotion!
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ShropshireBluenago09 added 08:22 - Jul 28 Azzuromark - sorry missed that. That will teach me not to comment half a sleep!
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martin587 added 08:59 - Jul 28 I never fully trust the press until it actually happens.But if he is still at the club after 8th August I will be very pleased.He is a quality player and an Irish International.He has the capability to change a game and even when he came on yesterday for the second half his understanding with Norwood showed. The diamond shape suited him and the team.When everybody is fit I'm sure we will be a big force this coming season.Still think we should be looking at another CB though.Looking forward this Saturday.

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BlueandTruesince82 added 09:11 - Jul 28 Pugh is a great sighing for them
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jas0999 added 09:18 - Jul 28 Judge is a very key part of the team. It would have been impossible to replace him for that sort of money. Let's hope he stays fit. Good news.
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Karlosfandangal added 09:18 - Jul 28 If Judge had gone then we might have got Pugh.
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ArnieM added 09:24 - Jul 28 .......so QPR decide to move on. Great. Thanks for that! Now what of Mr Judges request to Lambert that he wanted to speak ( and therefore leave our Club before the ink is dry on his nice new shiny contract), to QPR? Where's the loyalty from this player to ITFC? What if another Club comes calling? Is he suddenly going to want to speak to them too??
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TimmyH added 09:36 - Jul 28 Lets just hope he doesn't hand in a transfer request...as good a player he is (certainly at league 1 level) I won't be looking at him in the same light.
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blueblood_soldier added 09:40 - Jul 28 AJ said he's interested to speak to QPR.. He hasn't thrown his dummy from his pram and demanded the move or put in a transfer request (yet).. PL said he voiced his opinions to AJ that we took a punt and helped him get back on track.. how do we know the bloke didn't go home that night and think, the gaffers right I owe something back, hence why he hasn't pushed it?

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hollywoodginge added 09:45 - Jul 28 A quick alternative view on loyalty, that's a two way thing. Imagine we got offered big money for a player, that was settled and happy here. Do you think we would say no? Do you think we would show loyalty to that player? Or if we've a player happy here but get the chance to sign someone better. I've no issue in accepting that loyalty in football is lacking in general both ways between clubs and players, it's just how it is. If you want loyalty, buy a dog!

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runningout added 10:18 - Jul 28 we still need new
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Dissboyitfc added 11:07 - Jul 28 I will reserve judgement on judge to see if he knuckles down and gets on with it, hopefully he will just accept it as we need him.
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Gilesy added 11:12 - Jul 28 For god's sake...it's not world war one. What's the rubbish about loyalty? He was interested in a move. He's not gone. We would have been compensated. It's his job and livelihood. Get a grip. Football isn't some comic book world.
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corfu72 added 11:16 - Jul 28 Let's just remember,AJ has NOT requested a transfer.Some on here seem to be condemning him for wanting to leave.Most of this is paper and agents talk.
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