Finidi George's agent Winny Haatrecht says that his player had agreed to accept a settlement on his contract but that the Blues have withdrawn the offer. Finidi is currently in Spain where his girlfriend Marea Jose gave birth to their first son, Kavin, last night.

The Nigerian, currently out with a hip injury, is the highest paid player at Portman Road on wages of £20,000-a-week. Haatrecht says that negotiations with Town regarding the former international's contract have been on-going for some while: "We had a deal with Ipswich, but it depended on him finding a new club in January before the transfer window closed.

"That didn't happen, so we made a proposal to the club and they came back to say they couldn't come up with that sort of money.

"I said 'Okay, give me a figure that you can pay' and they talked with the administrator before coming back to me with an offer.

"I spoke for a long time with Finidi and he said 'Let's do it'. He wanted to help the club. He understood the position they were in.

"Finidi wanted to help the club and was prepared to accept a lot less than he is due."

The former Ajax man is currently two weeks away from getting back to action after a scan showed his hip problem is not too serious. It has been an injury-hit season for the £3.1 million signing and he has made just six starts as well as 11 appearances from the bench, scoring one goal.

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls