Town manager George Burley has travelled to Holland and Belgium and is said to be watching specific players rather than just looking generally for targets.

No names seem to have been touted as yet, although there has been one suggestion that Burley may be that players from tournament outsiders Slovenia may be amongst those he is looking at.

All the previous player links continue to be mentioned, although it seems that Andreas Jakobsson has signed for Hansa Rostock in Germany. Despite this it seems that centre-half is one area Town are definitely looking to strengthen with David Holdsworth, Southend’s Nathan Jones, and Jakobsson all linked.

Birmingham seem to have priced Holdsworth out of the market by doubling their asking price since Town’s elevation to the Premiership, while it would be unlikely that a player such as Jones would be thrown in at the top level by George Burley. It seems it's going to be a long summer of much speculation.

Matt Holland played the full 90 minutes as Ireland overcame South Africa 2-1 in the USA-based Nike Cup. Leeds’ Stephen McPhail and Sunderland’s Niall Quinn scored the Irish goals.

Richard Naylor has spoken out about the two-match ban he received last season. Naylor was accused of a head-butt by Birmingham’s Darren Purse. Naylor said: "I said all along that there had been a clash of heads. He was holding me and I was trying to get away from him.

"He stitched me up, no question about it. He sat down and wrote a letter to the FA. I don’t know, but maybe his manager put him up to it. The guy who deals with these things at the FA told me that it was the first time he head known one player to write in about another."

I wouldn't want to Purse if Town draw Birmingham in one of the cups next season.

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