Town midfielder Flynn Downes has handed in a transfer request in the wake of Crystal Palace’s second rejected bid.

In July, TWTD revealed that the Eagles were keen on the 21-year-old with sporting director Dougie Freedman having been at Town’s game at Blackpool at the end of February as the Selhurst Park club continued an ongoing watching brief.

After an initial bid of just over £1 million had been turned down, Palace returned for a further offer last week which we understand was below the £2 million reported and was dismissed out of hand.

Now The Athletic is reporting that Downes, who was TWTD readers’ Player of the Year for 2019/20, has handed in a transfer request in the wake of those bids, which we believe to be the case.

Owner Marcus Evans is understood to have no plans to offload any of the club’s prized assets this summer, despite the financial implications of the coronavirus crisis.

And, while every player has his price, Town would want an overall deal, including clauses such as appearance milestones, worth significantly more than the figures currently being reported if they were to sell the Brentwood-born academy product.

#ITFC midfielder Flynn Downes has handed in a transfer request @TheAthleticUK understands, after Ipswich rejected two offers from #CPFC

Latest offer for the 21-year-old worth around £2 million.

Part of a drive to sign younger talent, detailed here 👇🏻https://t.co/YE5ZxfP9Iu– Matt Woosnam (@MattWoosie) September 1, 2020

Downes, who we understand has recently taken on a new agent, is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2022 with the club having an option for a further season.

Asked last week whether he would be a Town player this season, Downes responded: “Hopefully, obviously we’ll see. You can never say for sure, but hopefully I will be.”

Quizzed on whether he was aware of any interest, he added: “I’ve heard little bits and bobs but I’m just focusing on the football, that’s all I can say really, I’m focusing on the football and everything else will be taken care of. That’s sort of it.”

West Ham, who Downes supports and who he faced in a friendly at Portman Road last Tuesday, also made their interest known to Town in January, while Fulham are among the other clubs to have been keeping tabs on the schemer. Reports of interest from Arsenal are understood to be wide of the mark.

Photo: Matchday Images

Westy added 12:38 - Sep 1 I can't really blame him. We are after all a League One club and he has a chance to play in the PL. It is not as if we are Championship and likely to be promoted to the PL so that it would be achievable with Town in the foreseeable future. Even the most loyal player as with the others has a relatively short career and you have to take the opportunities when they come. That is not to say I'm not disappointed but this is part of the price of not getting promoted last season.

5

blues1 added 12:40 - Sep 1 Ipswichtownfor life. That is probably the funniest, but most stupid comment I've ever seen on here. It's in his contract that if the club want him out, he has to say he asked for a transfer.😂😂😂. Thanks for the laugh anyway.
1

BeattiesBackPocket added 12:46 - Sep 1 Atty spot on mate. You should also check how many youth team players we've sold over the past few seasons. That my issue with fans believing Evans five point plan it's been renewed every season for 6 or 7 seasons now and you can't implement it when our 14 and 15 year olds are sold to a premier team before even getting into the under 21's. That isn't Evans fault because as a category 2 youth set up we can't stop them moving to car 1 teams however where I blame him is in implementing something and promising something he cannot fulfill and as you said if they aren't bough at a young age they do well and go anyway and normally for poor money. As fans we need to stop being mugs

0

delias_cheesy_flaps added 12:47 - Sep 1 "Rats leaving a sinking ship" springs to mind but you can't blame Downes for wanting to move away from our joke of a club!
2

JohnyJohnson added 12:49 - Sep 1 ITFC- possibly the most depressing club to follow over the last 15 years! A one leg win over Arsenal is the most we have. Can anyone think of a club that has had less to cheer about in those !5 years?
4

JohnyJohnson added 12:50 - Sep 1 ... and I'm usually glass half full!
0

ITFCsince67 added 12:53 - Sep 1 Don't blame him in the slightest. A club with zero ambition and a player with some potential. Good luck to him. ITFC on a life support machine and might as well turn it off. SO SAD.
6

ArnieM added 12:58 - Sep 1 True ^^^^
0

kuyski added 13:03 - Sep 1 Nobody want to stay at a no ambition club ! Just see what players we brought in that's the answer.........Posh sign in clarke-harris and we sign in Hawkins...................wow
2

LWNR2013 added 13:09 - Sep 1 Some charming comments on here again. No brainer for the player, great opportunity. Best of luck mate 👍 that's why they play - to be the best they can!
2

Bergholtblue added 13:14 - Sep 1 Tragic shame! One of those youngsters could have had his place in the first team photo.
0

MonkeyAlan added 13:24 - Sep 1 1.Said he was happy last week. 2.We wont disclose the fee so wont know how cheaply Evans sells him for ! 3. We cant reinvest the money thanks to these stupid new rules.Anyone we sign will be cr@p because we can only pay peanuts in wages now. 4.We are stuffed this season with the owner and management team we have. 5. Im bl00dy p!ssed off !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4

Saxonblue74 added 13:30 - Sep 1 Has looked decent at times but too soon for a move to the prem. Let's face it, he's been with us in the championship and lge1, hardly ripped the opposition apart in either! One more season would serve him well, and maybe a little return for the club that have invested in him.
0

leftie1972 added 13:38 - Sep 1 £4 million plus add ins is the least that we should be looking at. Yes , he will be missed and yes he deserves a shot elsewhere but it has to be for good money! Or else wants the point!
0

afrodids added 13:44 - Sep 1 !!!
1

bigtimecharlie added 13:46 - Sep 1 To be followed shortly by ... ' Wolfenden hands in transfer request ' ...
2

floridaboy added 13:55 - Sep 1 Downes to agent: I am going nowhere here, get me a move to a really ambitious premier club Agent to Downes: I can quadruple your present wages but as far as ambition goes it will have to be Palace!!!!! Downes to agent: OK then, at least the money is good!!
3

Skip73 added 14:05 - Sep 1 When will the club learn? Palace should've been told he's going for nothing short of £10m, then they would either stump up the majority of that or take their interest elsewhere. As it stands, he will now probably go for around £3m as the club won't want a player who doesn't want to be here. ITFC are run by idiots.
1

Skip73 added 14:08 - Sep 1 Still, look on the bright side, Lambert will have £5.50 to spend in the transfer market. Happy Days, Whoop Whoop!!
0

braveblue added 14:09 - Sep 1 Don't blame him at all. Who would want to stay at a club heading downwards with Evans at the helm when he can move to a higher division?
2

chepstowblue added 14:17 - Sep 1 Not in the slightest bit concerned.Vastly overrated,very rarely the best midfielder on the park last season, and his limited ability would be shown up terribly in the premier division. You've got to be able to do more than chase shadows at that level. I cant imagine any opposition fan last season even noticed him.
1

Suffolkboy added 14:17 - Sep 1 Between the lines reading ,everything points to PL and Asst Mgr knowing exactly what gives : and PL merely said he'd had conversations recently ( no details ) , plus he's been media shy so far ! Bet he doesn't want FD sold , knows money talks , expects to be disappointed BUT will probably say ( rightly )‘ that's football‘ . We do however hold the whip hand : longish contract , extension written in and one suspects he won't figure in the early matches, or if he does it will indicate we've taken a hard line ( & rightly so ) . As to what FD has said , then allowing much of what's been speculated here IS correct , then diplomatically it's just what he ought to have done ; but he plainly changed Agents for a reason ,and they work on situations such as this . It'll be a real tester ,and one suspects L O'N will play his professional part . The outcome may well be dictated by C19 , salary and team make up conditions ,AND it'll be a morale tester whichever way it goes : QUESTION , what effect on PL ? COYB

-1

rugbytomc added 14:27 - Sep 1 Ivan Toney, top scorer in the league just went for £5m (plus add ons). So realistically, for a non scoring midfielder, we could expect to get an initial fee of £2-3m? Doesn't seem much - especially if we went up this year then that could easily rise to £5-6m. Do we have a CB in mind to go and buy with any proceeds? I like Downes, would like him to stay but don't blame him for wanting to go if the offer is right.

1

dirtydingusmagee added 14:29 - Sep 1 The surprise is, its not a surprise. Downes is better than Lge 1 ,and has ambition and hopefully a long career ahead of him, ITFC has an owner with no ambition and the club is in decline a chance to better himself [and earn more comes the players way ,he takes it , WHO WOULDN 'T . Loyalty to a failing club is not going to do the player any good.Perhaps the fans that clutch at straws and believe we will get back to the good times ,will now start to smell the coffee. Im afraid theres worse to come IMO ,Too much is wrong at the club now .

4

Nazemariner added 14:32 - Sep 1 Always a shame to lose a young talent, but it's the way it works i'm afraid. Glad it was Downes rather than Wolfy, as CM is an area that we have plenty of options.
1

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls