Town have announced their retained list with Marcus Harness joining Massimo Luongo in being released, while the Blues have taken up an option in defender Elkan Baggott’s contract which will see the Indonesian international remain at Portman Road for a further season.

Harness’s terms included an option for a further season but the Blues have opted against exercising it and the 29-year-old will leave the club this summer.

Coventry-born Harness joined the Blues from Portsmouth for £750,000 in July 2022 and has made 38 starts and 51 sub appearances - including two from the bench in the Premier League at the start of the season - scoring 12 goals and was part of the squad which won back-to-back promotions.

He spent this season on loan at Derby and went on to make 27 starts and 15 sub appearances, scoring four times, as the Rams finished 19th in the Championship, one point above the drop zone. A return to Pride Park could well be on the cards.

Blues boss Kieran McKenna revealed prior to the final game of the season against West Ham that Luongo would be moving on and the player and fans said their goodbyes following that match.

Baggott spent the season with League One Blackpool and went on to make 17 starts and three sub appearances without scoring, having spent lengthy spells out injured between the end of his first month at the club and the start of November and then, after playing only one game following his return, until mid-January.

However, it’s little surprise that the Blues have taken the option to keep the 22-year-old at the club for a further year.

Town say contract talks with both Cameron Burgess and Axel Tuanzebe, whose deals are up this summer, are continuing.

The Blues have confirmed that loanees Jens Cajuste (Napoli), Julio Enciso (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ben Godfrey (Atalanta) and Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City) have all returned to their clubs with McKenna having previously said the Blues would like the Sweden international to return but “there’s probably a lot to do for that to happen”.

In addition to Baggott, Ali Al-Hamadi (Stoke City), Harry Clarke (Sheffield United) and Cameron Humphreys (Wycombe Wanderers) have returned to the club following their loan spells.

Town’s list of under contract players looks set to be reduced by one today with Liam Delap closing in on his £30 million move to Chelsea with some reports claiming personal terms have been agreed and his medical started yesterday.

Released
Massimo Luongo, Marcus Harness

Contract option taken
Elkan Baggott

Offered new contract
Cameron Burgess, Axel Tuanzebe.

Returning from loan
Ali Al-Hamadi (Stoke City), Elkan Baggott (Blackpool), Harry Clarke (Sheffield United), Cameron Humphreys (Wycombe Wanderers)

Loans expired
Jens Cajuste (Napoli), Julio Enciso (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ben Godfrey (Atalanta), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City).

Under contract
Ali Al-Hamadi, Elkan Baggott, Nathan Broadhead, Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin, Harry Clarke, Jack Clarke, Leif Davis, Liam Delap, Jacob Greaves, George Hirst, Cameron Humphreys, Omari Hutchinson, Ben Johnson, Sam Morsy, Aro Muric, Chiedozie Ogbene, Dara O’Shea, Alex Palmer, Jaden Philogene, Cieran Slicker, Sam Szmodics, Jack Taylor, Conor Townsend, Christian Walton, Luke Woolfenden.

Photo: Matchday Images

MickMillsTash added 10:36 - Jun 2 Good Luck Harness, the 'off the bench' brace at Birmingham was invaluable in the 23/24 promotion push.
34

ImAbeliever added 10:41 - Jun 2 It’s a long way to At-a-Lantau, it’s long way to go….hmmm…not my favourite loanee.
0

gkroon89 added 10:52 - Jun 2 Wasn’t going to get much game time as we are overstocked with wingers. Seems a little poor business to lave him to a free. Surely he should have been sold last summer?
1

TimmyH added 10:54 - Jun 2 So much for a number of posters looking forward to Harness returning to the squad for next season, shows just how much they know (obviously less than the McK) - Right decision. Wish Marcus all the best for the future and obviously Massimo as well.
9

jdtractor96 added 11:03 - Jun 2 Thank you for the midweek winner at Burton Albion, Harness! Great limbs in the away end
6

flykickingbybgunn added 11:14 - Jun 2 Good luck Marcus and thanks.
11

Gforce added 11:26 - Jun 2 I would imagine H Clarke, AAH and Baggott will either be sold or go out on loan again.
2

ArnieM added 11:55 - Jun 2 This retained list doesn't really tell us much does it eg, are we keeping those returning from loan, or selling them?
2

Steelmonkey added 12:13 - Jun 2 Sorry to see him go, but we have to face facts that we have a better calibre of players for his position now, not sure if he did enough for Derby to come back in for him and offer a contract. Never let us down and did score some important goals for us. Wishing you Marcus all the best for the future and thank you for your contribution.
5

Rimsy added 12:33 - Jun 2 Good luck to Mass and Marcus, both great servants to the club. Didn't realise Harness had only started 38 games, thought it was much more than that.
4

bluebullet29l added 12:34 - Jun 2 All them clueless people on here saying how exciting it was to get harness back.....correct decision to get rid of. Thank god.
-11

johnwarksshorts added 12:43 - Jun 2 No disrespect to Marcus as he's been brilliant for us, but now hopefully we'll set our sights to a higher level in transfer market.
2

Kentish_Tractor added 12:55 - Jun 2 IRT any fans complaining we should have renewed Harness' contract in the hope of getting a fee. I don't think it's quite that simple. Harness is probably on a decent wage, certainly by championship standards, and that would have gone up with our promotion to the prem I imagine like the rest of the squad. If we take up the option does he get to keep his prem wage? Then we have to be absolutely certain we recouperate any wages he gets paid from now until he is sold in that in a fee when selling him. Do we then have to pay the difference for him to agree to a lower wage somewhere else? PLUS there are the agents fees and other admin costs involve in that (loyalty bonus perhaps?). Then what if he doesn't get sold in the end and we're stuck with a player on a decent wage that realistically isn't going to play for us and his value is decreasing all the time. I'm sure the club have done their maths homework and worked out it's the better option to release him than to keep him on and sell him.

17

jon_talbot56 added 13:22 - Jun 2 Marcus did well at Derby after Eustace arrived and played him further forward. I know the fans there want him to stay. Sorry we couldn’t keep Jens and Julio. Priority has to be midfield. Maybe sell Muric to a dog food company.
4

PortmanTerrorist added 13:22 - Jun 2 We better get our Transfer boots on now! Not many better squad, utility players in the Championship. Yes we can do better....but will we?! COYB
0

Gforce added 13:56 - Jun 2 I've a strong feeling Jens will return, just like Hutch did last summer. Fingers crossed !
2

Tractorog added 14:12 - Jun 2 Just wanted to say thank you to TWTD for being a reliable source of information and not giving in to the click bait nonsense that other websites use
13

Edmundo added 14:30 - Jun 2 We are well stocked with forwards, so thank you Marcus. Good luck for thr future. By my reckoning we have 4 squad places "free": the majority of those must be midfielders. I'm sure it'll be a quieter summer than some want, but quality is what we need now to start preparing a squad for promotion.
1

SickParrot added 15:16 - Jun 2 Sorry to see Harness go. Although we have four other wide players he can also play as a central midfielder and number 10. He may not have started many games but he's a great sub because of his versatility. He's much better than Jack Taylor in my opinion.
4

BotesdaleBlue added 15:38 - Jun 2 Very cogent argument Kentish Tractor. I think you've nailed the logic behind the decision.
2

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 16:52 - Jun 2 Fair enough!
0

Ipswichbusiness added 17:34 - Jun 2 The squad is basically sound. In terms of goalkeepers we have too many and either Walton or Muric should be sold and Slicker sent out on loan. The defence is well stocked. In midfield we need two quality signings. Up front we need a quality replacement for Delap. That is about it for now. I am confident that we will be promoted next season, despite some big clubs being in the Championship. However, we do need to be more frugal at the back.

1

Linkboy13 added 17:35 - Jun 2 Very good point Sick Parrott (get well soon) Harness has almost definitely achieved more than Taylor in his time at Town but Taylor is still under contract but will more than likely be released if it had expired maybe he will blossom in the championship.
0

blueboy1981 added 19:37 - Jun 2 Some delusional views as usual - a shock could well be on the cards for some with expectations, the Championship is a tough, tough grind, for those with short memories !!
0

blueboy1981 added 19:45 - Jun 2 Looks like Lee Grant has snapped up Harness - It seems some of you know a player better than him - Not, may I suggest !!
0

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