Brighton and Hove Albion have upped the pressure on Town regarding keeper Christian Walton by activating the recall clause in his season-loan deal, meaning that the 26-year-old could return to the Amex Stadium next week.

The season-long agreement reached by the Blues and Seagulls in the summer allowed the Premier League side to bring Walton back in January but with seven days’ notice, an option they utilised this morning.

That means that Walton currently remains at Portman Road and will be available for Saturday’s game at Bolton.

Town and Brighton have been in talks regarding the Wadebridge-born glovesman’s future since before the transfer window opened.

The Sussex club’s latest move appears to be designed to put pressure on the Blues to get a deal done sooner rather than later, while they are also likely to be courting interest from elsewhere having looked to move the former Plymouth youngster to a Championship side in the summer.

Walton is out of contract in the summer when he would be able to leave on a free transfer. January represents the Seagull's last chance to achieve a fee for a player who joined them in 2013.

"Even if no agreement is reached over the next week, Walton could always return to Portman Road at a later stage during January if the clubs are subsequently able to do a deal and he hasn't joined another side.

Walton has been one of Town's best performers since joining in August.

When asked about his future following the FA Cup replay defeat to Barrow, he was unable to comment but said he was happy at Portman Road.

“I think that sort of thing is best left to the hierarchy within the clubs,” he said. “I’ve nothing to say on that at the minute because I don’t really know my situation. All I do know is that I’m playing for Ipswich Town and I’m really enjoying my football here.

“I think my form’s been good but I don’t think that’s for me to talk about at this moment, after a 2-0 defeat at Barrow.

“As long as I can keep doing as much as I can for the team within games then hopefully it spirals and has a knock-on effect throughout the team.

“I will always want to be doing better and will continue to work hard and apply myself. This is a great football club to be playing for and I love playing for the club.

“This is a massive football club and any player within the divisions would want to come and play for Ipswich.

“You’ve seen the players that we’ve recruited in the summer from higher divisions and you can see from the support that we get how good the club is. I’m really enjoying my time here.”

Walton is believed to have a strong relationship with new goalkeeper-coach Rene Gilmartin, the pair having been at Plymouth together early in his career.

Photo: Matchday Images

JewellintheTown added 16:43 - Jan 10 Expected from Brighton, we'd understandably do it too & no shock to anyone. re: Walton, this is a much more professional club setup now than we've ever had, so I'm sure this hasn't just dropped into Ashtons inbox and he's panicking in getting his man at any cost. Lets see what plans he and his backroom staff have up their sleeves and probably had for a long while including plans a-z. I'd be more than happy if he stays though.

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ArnieM added 17:07 - Jan 10 January window is always a bad time to do business. Problem is, The player is a goalkeeper. Thus more specialised There maybe other suitors probably championship level. We will be held to ransom if we appear desperate to get him. We eithe4 suck it up and pay up ( but we'll have to shift players out first suspect ), OR call their bluff and allow him to return and wait it out until the summer for him when he's free.

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Saxonblue74 added 17:21 - Jan 10 If we carry on as we left off against Gillingham we could get rid of all our keepers, won't need one!🤣
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Ipswichbusiness added 17:25 - Jan 10 This is an odd one. Brighton say that they want him back. Hat if we reply, “ok, have him”? Then they have to pay his wages for the rest of the season, lose him on a free in the summer and have a mighty hacked off player in the meantime. The only way that I can make sense of it is if Brighton think that we are so desperate that we will just pay up or if they have alternative offers in the wings. ArnieM; I agree with you about this window, just look at all the dross we signed on loan this time last year.

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ThaiBlue added 17:34 - Jan 10 Think he will command a fee of around 1-2 million
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jas0999 added 17:57 - Jan 10 We would do exactly the same thing. It's business. Why let him go for nothing, when clubs are prepared to pay a fee. I hope we sign him though. Great keeper. We'd need to sign a replacement if Walton goes elsewhere.
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runningout added 18:16 - Jan 10 Walton maybe off elsewhere. Not sure why some are over doing it, albeit he's a decent keeper and Hladky and Holy haven't cut it. I'd loan another good keeper as there are quite a few about
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runningout added 18:19 - Jan 10 sorry Jas, basically said same
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LegendofthePhoenix added 18:19 - Jan 10 Don't know how much Walton's wages are but guessing that even as a 3rd choice Prem player it is at least £15k per week. Presumably we are paying about 1/3 of that. So the big question is how much of a wage cut he is prepared to take. I don't see that Brighton would even need much of a fee, they would be saving £300+k in wages if they offload him. We would need to structure any deal to keep within current wage structure but give him a nice increase upon promotion. Let's hope he can take the long term view and see that this team is only going in one direction and see that it could be a very mutually beneficial deal.

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Monkey_Blue added 18:34 - Jan 10 Can't he just agree a pre contract deal with us? That would wipe out any value he has between now and the end of the season? Is the pre contract thing only for overseas clubs? Surely he can still sign a contract starting July 1?
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therein61 added 18:40 - Jan 10 I'm sure that if our new manager can get rid of who he clearly sees as players not in his plans then that would free up wages to appease Walton he seems happy here and can see this side becoming something to be reckoned with it's down to him but it's got to be quick Mr Ashton.
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Monkey_Blue added 18:43 - Jan 10 I would however say we don't need to break the bank for him. He's had a couple of great games a couple of dodgy games and been ok the rest…. I don't think we'd struggle to get a keeper of at least as good quality on loan.
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Dday added 18:43 - Jan 10 I've said it before , but Walton is our most important player, he is a proper goal keeper in an era of fancy shot stoppers and tip tap ball players. He commands his box, which is invaluable at the this level.
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Gforce added 18:52 - Jan 10 The two clubs are obviously having discussions, I wouldn't be surprised if a deal was completed by the end of the week. In the meantime, according to football insider, Sunderland and Wigan are both keen to sign Macauley Bonne this month . Hopefully he'd much rather stay with us,than go to one of our rivals.Lets hope we can get a deal sorted in the near future.
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Ipswichbusiness added 19:08 - Jan 10 Therein61; we have an over-large squad and there are several players who have contributed little this season (such as Holy, Kenlock, Nolan and Jackson). Unfortunately, a) the new manager will probably still be deciding who he wants to keep and who to let go and b) who will take them off our hands?
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Cakeman added 19:28 - Jan 10 Hopefully we can sign him permanently but if not we must bring another decent keeper in. With the greatest of respect Holy and Vladky are not the first choice answers. I notice Kieran Westwood is still a free agent and we could do with someone with his experience on a short term basis if Walton does move on.
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blueboy1981 added 19:54 - Jan 10 Can't blame Brighton - others are obviously interested in Walton. What we need to see is some intent instead of faffing around from Ipswich Town, and get the deal done. He's worth a goal a game to us at least, if he goes he'll be missed for sure - no other keeper at the Club near his standard. Another reason not to run away with the euphoria just yet you people - many twists and turns in this season as yet.

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Cloddyseedbed added 20:29 - Jan 10 As much as I'd love to keep him this will involve a lot of juggling around with others going out. That is the problem, are they worth anything and who would want our cast offs. January is always a desperate time to do deals. If someone wants something badly enough they will pay. If you want to get rid of someone that nobody is that interested in you have a problem. Currently we have far too many players. We must also adhere to financial rules that are in place. Walton and Bonne in my mind are important players for us but highlight the risk of loan players!

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Saxonblue74 added 20:40 - Jan 10 Blueboy, to be fair there hasn't been a lot of "faffing" from Ashton and our new owners. They've very quickly got deals across the line once the player was identified as a target. I'd imagine this whole process is far more difficult than any of us could imagine. Agents will be as "helpful" as ever no doubt.
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istanblue added 20:58 - Jan 10 Sign him up! The Czechmates Holy and Hladky are nowhere near good enough. If we lose him and don't replace him then I can see our resurgent play-off push fizzling out. Get it done Ashton!
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blueboy1981 added 21:51 - Jan 10 If Walton is recalled and moves on - we could do much, much worse than take a long look at the young Cambridge keeper. Remember his name ….. !!!!
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Jonaldo added 05:47 - Jan 11 Who on here wouldn't do the same thing if you were paying half his wages? He is clearly several notches above our next best keeper.
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Michael101 added 11:04 - Jan 11 I wonder if Brighton have done a deal with somebody allready??
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planetblue_2011 added 13:16 - Jan 11 Get him for 1m COYB
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ringwoodblue added 13:37 - Jan 11 I suspect the wages could be a sticking point. It would be a mistake to offer him wages that are not in line with our other players and risk alienating them but that will mean he will need to accept a massive wage cut and much as he likes the idea of staying at Town, his agent and partner will probably persuade him otherwise
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