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

budgieplucker added 21:20 - Jun 2 There certainly needs to be some further trimming to be able to register a squad of 25 players which includes goalkeepers. We currently have 26 over 21’s + Cameron Humphreys (still under 21), this excludes Delap assuming his move with Chelsea gets announced but includes Axel and Cameron Burgess, if they sign new deals. Goalkeepers are counted in the 25, and we now have four that will fall into the over 21 category, clearly 2 will need to get lay elsewhere next season, one potentially being loaned and another possibly being sold. Palmer is likely to be number 1 choice, and maybe we sign a third young under 21 goalkeeper to be a backup or alternatively promote one the younger goalkeepers in the club if we have enough confidence in them to be a bench member if we have an injury. This would take the squad to 24. Given that we may look to sign a couple of Premiership U21 players to fill the Delap position and one if the midfield vacancies, then we may still need to release 2 to 3 players to increase the squad experience in midfield and possibly attack. Looks like Al Ahmadi and Elkan Baggott will be sent out on loan again to provide two vacancies.

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planetblue_2011 added 09:59 - Jun 3 Good player he will do well for another championship club. Good luck Marcus!
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